PANAJI, Dec 27: 161 people on board a Mumbai-bound Jet Airways aircraft today had a miraculous escape when it skidded off the runway, made an abrupt about turn and its nose touched the soft land while taxiing for take off early today in Goa airport, leaving 12 passengers injured.
There were 154 passengers and seven crew members onboard when the Boeing 737 aircraft turned a full 360 degree on the runaway and veered towards the soft land and in the process damaging the landing gear around 5 AM.
The nose cone was virtually on the grass abutting the runway, indicating the seriousness of the accident that could have been disastrous.
There was panic inside the aircraft as the plane jerked when it spun. The “minor” injuries to the 12 passengers came when they were being evacuated from the stricken aircraft.
The flying licence of the two pilots was suspended an a probe launched into the accident. It will be conducted by Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) of the Civil Aviation Ministry.
Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju said a thorough time-bound investigation and corrective action shall be ensured. Action will be taken in case of violation of procedures, he added.
Seven of the injured have been discharged from the hospital after being provided medical aid and the airline’s flight operations to and from Goa have resumed, Jet Airways said.
Meanwhile, AAIB has rushed a three-member team to the “accident” spot to start its investigation, sources in New Delhi said.
“Prima facie the runway accident appears to be a pilot’s fault. The DGCA has withdrawn the flying privileges of the two pilots, including the Commander, pending the initial outcome of the probe,” a highly-placed DGCA official said.
Sources in the AAIB also said that in all “probability,” the accident took place because of the pilots fault, adding, “ We will get to know the actual cause of the accident only after the initial report is submitted in this regard.”
Sources said the preliminary findings on the accident are likely to be submitted in a week’s time.
“We have resumed normal operations to and from Goa and normalcy has also restored to the operations at Goa airport,” Jet Airways said in a statement.
Seven of the 12 injured passengers have been discharged after being provided with the first-aid, the airline said adding the remaining five guests are currently receiving medical attention and will be discharged after they are medically cleared.
The airline also said that its flight 9W 472 to Goa is being operated on a wide-body Boeing 777-300 ER at its scheduled time to ferry the passengers to Goa.
Navy said its prompt response in rescuing passengers averted the incident from turning into a “catastrophe”.
The incident took place at around 5 AM when flight 9W 2374, which had arrived from Dubai and bound for Mumbai, was about to take off.
When the evacuation was on, the aircraft tilted forward, an eyewitness said, triggering panic among passengers.
Earlier Navy sources had said 15 people suffered “minor injuries and fractures” in the process.
“When people were getting down the plane, the escape chute suddenly tilted forward triggering panic and chaos,” a passenger told reporters at Chicalim Cottage Hospital in Vasco.
The Goa airport is located in a navy facility, INS Hansa in Vasco town, nearly 25 km from here. The runway was made available for flight operations at 9 AM, hours before the initial deadline of 12.30 PM.
A Naval spokesperson said, “Navy responded within 15-20 minutes and all the passengers were evacuated safely out of the aircraft. It would have turned into a catastrophe had the Navy not acted promptly”.
Soon after the incident, Navy officials had cordoned off the aircraft that had tilted towards its front end, while the passengers were being alighted.
“After the passengers were evacuated, the operation to rescue the aircraft started. The damage to the runway was also assessed by a team of Indian Navy and Airport Authority of India officials,” the spokesperson said.
“There was lot of muck on the runway as the flight was grounded on the sides of the runway,” he said.
During the rescue operation hours, a chartered flight was diverted to Bangalore, while an Oman Air flight that was scheduled to arrive in morning, was diverted to Mumbai, he said.
A total of seven scheduled flights that were to land at the airport were cancelled, while one scheduled flight and another chartered flight remained grounded. The two aircraft will take off later during the day.
“Jet Airways is fully cooperating with the various authorities, including the DGCA and AAIB, for investigation into the incident,” a spokesperson said. (PTI)
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