Ranchi: There seems to be little respite for India’s biggest airline. Even as IndiGo was making efforts to restore normalcy in flight operations, after a weeklong disruption, the tail of one of its aircraft apparently scraped the ground while landing at the Ranchi airport on Friday evening.
Officials confirmed on Saturday that the flight, from Bhubaneswar to Ranchi, suffered a “tail strike” while making its final approach. There were 70 passengers on board who felt a “jolt”.
While airport and airline officials confirmed that the aircraft landed safely around 7.30 pm and there were injuries to passengers, it has been revealed that the plane was declared unfit for the return journey, forcing passengers to cancel bookings.
“The tail of the aircraft touched the runway during landing. Passengers experienced a sudden jolt. However, they were all safe and unharmed,” news agency PTI has quoted Ranchi airport Director Vinod Kumar as saying.
The plane was grounded following the incident after checks found it to be technically ineligible for takeoff, he said.
“Its next departure from Ranchi to Bhubaneswar was cancelled. Some passengers cancelled their journey, while some rescheduled their travel. Some passengers were sent to Bhubaneswar by road,” Kumar said.
Aviation experts pointed to the fact that the rear wheels of an aircraft are the first to touch ground during a landing. Hence the rear section is tilted downward. A “tail strike” can take place if the nose is higher than it should be during the final approach.
Indigo aircrafts have experienced as many as four tail strike incidents in the first six months of 2023, Reuters had reported earlier.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had fined Indigo for deficiencies in documentation and operational practices following a special audit in 2023. The audit was conducted after a series of tail strike incidents involving the carrier’s A321 aircraft.
“The DGCA had levied a penalty of 3 million rupees ($36,475) for deficiencies in the carrier’s documentation and procedures of operations training, engineering and flight data monitoring,” the civil aviation ministry was quoted as saying by Reuters.
Friday’s incident comes amid a nationwide surge in flight delays and cancellations due to operational constraints, which left thousands of passengers stranded.
The airline said that it operated over 1,950 flights on Friday with just four cancellations, which were attributed to unfavourable weather. IndiGo added that all affected customers were informed in advance to avoid inconvenience, and that connectivity across all of its 138 operational destinations remains intact.
