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Time of India
8 hours ago
- General
- Time of India
Tech snag diverts AI's Thiruvananthapuram -Delhi flight to Chennai
CHENNAI/NEW DELHI: At least 140 passengers, including MP KC Venugopal and a few other MPs, on an Air India Thiruvananthapuram-Delhi flight experienced a terrifying 3.5-hour journey on Sunday after a technical fault forced pilots to divert the aircraft to Chennai. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Flight AI 2455 circled over the Bay of Bengal for nearly two hours, began its descent for a landing, then ascended again before safely landing on its second attempt. In a detailed statement, the DGCA said AI 2455 'encountered moderate turbulent conditions during flight. Crew observed that weather information depicted on the weather radar was not accurate. Suspecting weather radar malfunction, they diverted to Chennai.' 'After (hovering to burn fuel) the aircraft was cleared (to land) at Chennai. (Crew) was instructed to carry out a missed approach by ATC as a departing Gulf Air flight, GFA 53 (Chennai-Bahrain), reported debris on the left side of the runway,' it said. A runway check found nothing. The AI aircraft landed safely at 10.39 pm. 'During engineering inspection no deficiency was observed. However, as a precautionary measure, the weather radar transceiver was replaced with a serviceable one,' the DGCA said. A combination of multiple factors, including a slightly delayed departure from Thiruvananthapuram, bad weather, announcement of the flight diverting due to a snag, hovering over Chennai, and then a go-around added to passengers' anxiety. Minutes after landing, K C Venugopal, a former junior civil aviation minister, posted on X about the "frighteningly close to tragedy' experience. 'Shortly after take-off, we were hit by unprecedented turbulence. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now About an hour later, the captain announced a flight signal fault and diverted to Chennai. For nearly two hours, we circled around the airport awaiting clearance to land, until a heart-stopping moment during the first attempt — another aircraft was reportedly on the same runway. In a split second, the captain's quick decision to pull up saved every life on board. The flight landed safely on the second attempt,' he said, urging the civil aviation ministry and DGCA to 'investigate the incident and fix accountability.' Air India denied that AI 2455 was asked to go around because there was another aircraft on the runway. An AI spokesperson said: 'The flight crew of AI2455 … made a precautionary diversion to Chennai due to a suspected technical issue and given the weather conditions en route. The flight landed safely in Chennai, where the aircraft will undergo the necessary checks. We regret the inconvenience caused to affected passengers…. At AI, safety of our passengers and crew remains top priority.' In reply to another post on X, AI said: '…diversion to Chennai was precautionary, due to a suspected technical issue and poor weather conditions. A go-around was instructed by Chennai ATC during the first attempted landing, not because of the presence of another aircraft on the runway. Our pilots are well-trained to handle such situations, and in this case, they followed standard procedures throughout the flight…' Air India arranged another Airbus A320neo to fly the passengers from Chennai to New Delhi as AI 2455. The usual flying time of AI 2455 (TRV-Delhi) is 3.5 hours with a scheduled departure time of 7.15 pm. According to flight tracking sites, it took off on Sunday at 8 pm, after a slight delay, and landed in Chennai at 10.39 pm. The alternate aircraft took off from Chennai at 1.40 am and landed in New Delhi at about 4 am. Captain Ranganathan, a former pilot and aviation safety expert, said it is normal for flights to go around while approaching the runway to land. "Even in cases where an aircraft occupies the runway for too long, the incoming flight, which was given clearance to approach the runway, would be asked to go around,' he said. Seasoned aviators say while AI 2455 had a routine suspected snag, passenger anxiety levels have expectedly been higher after the June 12 AI 171 crash in Ahmedabad and subsequent incidents.
Time of India
10 hours ago
- Politics
- Time of India
‘Safety can't rely on luck': KC for probe on flight go-around
1 2 T'puram: Senior Congress leader and Alappuzha MP K C Venugopal has raised a safety issue after the Thiruvananthapuram-Delhi Air India flight he was in was diverted to Chennai where it landed after making a go-around due to a problem in the runway on Sunday. There were five MPs among the passengers — Adoor Prakash, K Radhakrishnan, Kodikunnil Suresh and Robert Bruce being the others. The flight, which departed at 8pm from Thiruvananthapuram, was diverted to Chennai due to a technical snag and poor weather. It landed around 10.30pm. Venugopal said that the pilot announced that another aircraft was on the runway when the plane attempted to land after getting clearance and urged DGCA and the ministry to investigate the incident. However, Air India said that there was no safety concern and that the go-around was done as per the instructions of the air traffic control and not because there was another aircraft on the runway. The Airports Authority of India (AAI) said in its response said that an aircraft that took off reported a safety concern on the runway and a runway inspection had to be done. In a social media post Venugopal wrote: "Air India flight AI 2455 from Trivandrum to Delhi — carrying myself, several MPs and hundreds of passengers — came frighteningly close to tragedy today. What began as a delayed departure turned into a harrowing journey. Shortly after take-off, we were hit by unprecedented turbulence. About an hour later, the captain announced a flight signal fault and diverted to Chennai. For nearly two hours, we circled the airport awaiting clearance to land, until a heart-stopping moment during our first attempt — another aircraft was reportedly on the same runway. In that split second, the captain's quick decision to pull up saved every life on board. The flight landed safely on the second attempt. We were saved by skill and luck. Passenger safety cannot depend on luck. I urge @DGCAIndia and @MoCA_GoI to investigate this incident urgently, fix accountability and ensure such lapses never happen again." Air India responded saying: "We would like to clarify that the diversion to Chennai was precautionary due to a suspected technical issue and poor weather conditions. A go-around was instructed by Chennai ATC during the first attempted landing at Chennai airport, not because of the presence of another aircraft on the runway. Our pilots are well trained to handle such situations and in this case, they followed standard procedures throughout the flight. We understand that such an experience can be unsettling and regret the inconvenience the diversion may have caused to you. However, safety is always our priority." Meanwhile, AAI said "With reference to the incident, we would like to state that the previous departing aircraft reported a safety concern on the runway to the ATC. Based on this, and in accordance with the SOP, a runway inspection was carried out and no such concern was found." Stay updated with the latest local news from your city on Times of India (TOI). Check upcoming bank holidays , public holidays , and current gold rates and silver prices in your area.
New Indian Express
10 hours ago
- General
- New Indian Express
ATC instructed Air India pilot instructed to abort first landing of Thiruvananthapuram flight due to debris: DGCA
NEW DELHI: Aviation watchdog Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Monday said that the cockpit crew of the Delhi-bound Air India flight from Thiruvananthapuram was directed by the Air Traffic Control (ATC) at Chennai to give a miss to the first landing it had planned on the runway. This followed a message relayed to them by the pilots of an earlier departing flight about debris being present near the runway. In a statement, the regulator also said the pilots of AI 2455 thought that the weather radar inside the cockpit had malfunctioned and was giving inaccurate information and this made them take the decision to divert the flight to Chennai. Later, a component in the nose cone of the aircraft, WX radar transceiver, which feeds inputs to the weather radar, was replaced as a precautionary measure before the flight finally took off from Chennai to Delhi. Flight AI2455 with 178 passengers, including five MPs from Kerala, plus seven crew members, had an emergency landing at Chennai airport on Sunday night due to turbulent weather and a suspected technical issue in the aircraft. AICC General Secretary and MP K C Venugopal, who was seated inside the flight, later billed the whole issue as a 'harrowing experience' in a long post on X. He alleged that the aircraft was frighteningly close to tragedy as it was 'a heart-stopping moment' during the first landing attempt. 'Another aircraft was reportedly on the same runway. In that split second, the Captain's quick decision to pull up saved every life. We were saved by skill and luck. Passenger safety cannot depend on luck.' Venugopal's remark was immediately countered by Air India on X which denied any danger posed by any other aircraft. 'The go-around was instructed by the Chennai ATC during the first attempted landing at the airport. It was not because of the presence of another aircraft on the runway.' The DGCA's statement gave minute details about the incident. It said that the A320 aircraft took off from Thiruvananthapuram only at 8.04 pm instead of its scheduled time of 7.15 pm. The delay of 49 minutes was due to the delayed arrival of the aircraft arriving here from Delhi.
Indian Express
12 hours ago
- Politics
- Indian Express
DGCA rejects KC Venugopal's claim, says Air India flight's go-around at Chennai airport not due to presence on another plane on runway
Aviation safety regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) clarified that the Air India flight that had to perform a go-around at the Chennai airport on Sunday did so on the instructions of the Chennai air traffic control (ATC) due to suspected debris on the runway, and not because of the presence of another aircraft. Congress leader KC Venugopal, who was on board the Air India flight, had said that the aircraft came 'frighteningly close to tragedy' as the pilots pulled up due to another aircraft being present 'reportedly on the same runway'. The missed approach at Chennai followed the diversion of the Thiruvananthapuram-Delhi flight AI 2455—operated by an Airbus A320 aircraft—to Chennai after the pilots noticed an issue with the aircraft's weather radar. Apart from Venugopal, there were several other members of Parliament on board the aircraft. 'After the aircraft was cleared for approach Runway 25 at Chennai, at 2219 IST aircraft was instructed to carry out a missed approach by ATC as departing Gulf Air flight GFA053 (Chennai-Bahrain) reported debris on (the) left side of runway. Apron control carried out inspection of the runway and nothing was observed. Aircraft was given landing clearance and aircraft landed safely at 22:39 IST,' the DGCA said in a statement Monday. In a post on social media platform X, Venugopal had said, 'Air India flight AI 2455 from Trivandrum to Delhi – carrying myself, several MPs, and hundreds of passengers – came frighteningly close to tragedy today. What began as a delayed departure turned into a harrowing journey. Shortly after take-off, we were hit by unprecedented turbulence. About an hour later, the Captain announced a flight signal fault and diverted to Chennai. For nearly two hours, we circled the airport awaiting clearance to land, until a heart-stopping moment during our first attempt – another aircraft was reportedly on the same runway. In that split second, the Captain's quick decision to pull up saved every life on board. The flight landed safely on the second attempt.' 'We were saved by skill and luck. Passenger safety cannot depend on luck. I urge @DGCAIndia (DGCA) and @MoCA_GoI (Ministry of Civil Aviation) to investigate this incident urgently, fix accountability, and ensure such lapses never happen again,' Venugopal had added. According to the DGCA, the flight's departure from Thiruvananthapuram was delayed by 49 minutes due to the late arrival of the aircraft from Delhi. 'During flight, aircraft encountered moderate turbulent conditions. Crew observed that the weather information depicted on the weather RADAR was not accurate, suspecting weather RADAR malfunction, (they) diverted to Chennai…To avoid overweight landing and burn extra fuel, the aircraft with the ATC clearance orbited 25 NM (nautical miles) northeast of Chennai for 43 minutes,' the regulator said. Air India said that the pilots of the Thiruvananthapuram-Delhi flight followed protocols and the first landing attempt had to be aborted due to suspected foreign debris presence on the runway. It added that the decision to divert the flight to Chennai was a precautionary measure and was taken in the best interest of the safety of passengers and crew due to a suspected technical issue. In response to Venugopal's post on X, the airline also said that the go-around was performed not due to the presence of any other aircraft on the runway, but on the instructions of the Chennai ATC. 'Our pilots are well-trained to handle such situations, and in this case, they followed standard procedures throughout the flight. We understand that such an experience can be unsettling and regret the inconvenience the diversion may have caused to you. However, safety is always our priority. Thank you for your understanding,' the airline said in its response to Venugopal's social media post. Missed approaches or go-arounds are not uncommon in flight operations, with pilots instructed and trained to abort landing if it is deemed unsafe. The incident also drew a reaction from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), with the party's IT department head Amit Malviya saying that if Venugopal's version of what transpired is correct, then Chennai ATC and Air India have 'much to answer for', otherwise Venugopal should 'face consequences'. 'This is extremely serious. If senior Congress leader KC Venugopal claims an Air India flight had to abort landing in Chennai because another aircraft was on the runway and the airline immediately contradicts him, then one of them is misrepresenting facts,' Malbiya said in a post on X. 'Aviation safety is paramount, and social media posts from supposedly responsible people cannot go unscrutinised. If the allegation is true, Chennai ATC and Air India have much to answer for. If not, Mr Venugopal should face consequences, including being put on a no-fly list for spreading falsehoods,' Malviya added. Sukalp Sharma is a Senior Assistant Editor with The Indian Express and writes on a host of subjects and sectors, notably energy and aviation. He has over 13 years of experience in journalism with a body of work spanning areas like politics, development, equity markets, corporates, trade, and economic policy. He considers himself an above-average photographer, which goes well with his love for travel. ... Read More
United News of India
15 hours ago
- Politics
- United News of India
Air India flight with MPs diverted to Chennai after scare, Venugopal calls it 'harrowing'
New Delhi, Aug 11 (UNI) An Air India flight from Thiruvananthapuram to Delhi, carrying passengers including senior Congress leader KC Venugopal and other Members of Parliament, was diverted to Chennai after suspected technical issue. Describing the journey as "harrowing", Venugopal said on X, "We were saved by skill and luck. Passenger safety cannot depend on luck". He also urged the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) India and Ministry of Civil Aviation to investigate the incident urgently and fix accountability while ensuring that such lapses never recur. "Air India flight AI 2455 from Trivandrum to Delhi -- carrying myself, several MPs, and hundreds of passengers -- came frighteningly close to a tragedy today," Venugopal said. He said, "What began as a delayed departure turned into a harrowing journey. Shortly after take-off, we were hit by unprecedented turbulence. About an hour later, the Captain announced a flight signal fault and diverted to Chennai". "For nearly two hours, we circled the airport awaiting clearance to land, until a heart-stopping moment during our first attempt-- another aircraft was reportedly on the same runway. In that split second, the Captain's quick decision to pull up saved every life on board. The flight landed safely on the second attempt," the Alappuzha MP said. He added, "We were saved by skill and luck. Passenger safety cannot depend on luck. I urge @DGCAIndia and @MoCA_GoI to investigate this incident urgently, fix accountability, and ensure such lapses never happen again". UNI RBE PRS
