Beechcraft aircraft lands on belly after wheel falls off, probe initiated

Sensing the gravity of the incident, the 48-year-old head constable immediately picked up his rifle and rushed towards the runway, which is barely 300 metres from watchtower number 12.

It was around 5.50pm when Ravi Kanth Avala, a Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) head constable, was on duty at the watchtower number 12 on the airside of the Nagpur airport. His INSAS rifle resting by his side, as he turns towards the active runway, Avala spots a Beechcraft King Air C90 plane taking off.

Emergency personnel work near a non-scheduled Beechcraft VT-JIL aircraft en-route from Nagpur to Hyderabad after an emergency belly-landing at the CSMIA, in Mumbai. (AFP)

“For some reason, I kept watching the plane as it was speeding on the runway. I noticed that the moment it took off, the rear left wheel of the plane broke and got separated. The speed of the aircraft was such that the detached wheel went rolling at least half a kilometre (km) ahead, towards the left of the runway, before it came to halt. The plane, however, took off, unaffected,” Avala, the only witness to the incident, told HT.

Sensing the gravity of the incident, the 48-year-old head constable immediately picked up his rifle and rushed towards the runway, which is barely 300 metres from watchtower number 12.

“I went to the spot where the wheel had fallen. As it was a charter jet, I was sure it would land somewhere within a maximum of two-three hours. I also knew that such planes have a capacity of seven-eight passengers and therefore lives are at stake. At that time, I didn’t know that it’s an air ambulance carrying a Covid-19 patient. Thinking that it can lead to a fatal accident upon landing, I immediately reported the matter to my superiors who further alerted the authorities concerned. It was found that the plane was destined to Mumbai and officials there were briefed about the incident to be able to make the timely arrangements to handle the aircraft as it prepared to land,” Avala said.

The medical flight which was on its way to Mumbai from Bagdogra, had stopped at Nagpur for refuelling.

On Friday, CISF also announced a reward of ₹10,000 for Avala and the director general’s commendation certificate and disk for his mindful action that saved lives and averted a major disaster from happening.

Avala said he feels fortunate to have saved a tragedy from unfolding.

“My seniors and colleagues appreciate my quick reaction. My alertness and promptness was lauded. My family members, wife and children are also proud of me,” said Avala, who has been posted at Nagpur airport since 2017.

The Jet Serve Aviation’s Beechcraft C-90 aircraft, registered as VT-JIL, had to make a belly landing at Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) on Thursday evening. The non-scheduled medical flight with five people on board had taken off from Bagdogra to land in Mumbai. It however had to land on its belly, as its left rear wheel got separated immediately after take-off and fell off at Nagpur airport, where it had a halt for refuelling

While Avala’s presence of mind played a vital role in saving the lives of five passengers on board, top AAI sources said that after learning about absence of rear left wheel, the pilot had requested the ATC to get in touch with the aircraft type’s (C-90) expert from DGCA to figure out the best possible procedure to be followed in the situation.

At times when a full emergency is declared at airports, all the stakeholders get into action to prepare for the extraordinary situation. While the role of every stakeholder matters, air traffic controllers (ATC) play one of the most crucial roles at such times. From deciding on the line of action to coordinating with the pilot, airport operator and safety experts, if needed, ATCos swing into action with an aim to make the aircraft land safely.

“The checklist with the pilot did not state his course of action needed, in case one of the rear wheels went missing,” claimed an AAI official. “Though the pilot had communicated to go for belly landing, he shared a contact with an expert for C-90 aircraft and asked the on-duty controllers to re-confirm the course of action needed,” the official added. It is then that the air traffic controllers (ATCos) got in touch with two experts from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to have their view on the situation. The experts also agreed and asked the ATCos to go ahead and perform belly landing.

Mohan Ranganathan, aviation safety expert and former instructor pilot of Boeing 737, said, “Absence of standard operating procedure on partial landing gear failure is a very serious lapse on DGCA’s part.”

DGCA director general Arun Kumar said that investigation will reveal the facts. “We will not like to speculate,” he added.

The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), however, confirmed that they have taken over the investigation.

“AAIB is conducting an investigation as per Aircraft (Investigation of Accidents and Incidents) Rules, 2017, into the causes of the occurrence,” read AAIB’s reply to the email sent by the paper.

At times when a full emergency is declared at airports, all the stakeholders get into action to prepare for the extraordinary situation. While the role of every stakeholder matters, air traffic controllers (ATC) play one of the most crucial roles at such times. From deciding on the line of action to coordinating with the pilot, airport operator and safety experts, if needed, ATCos swing into action with an aim to make the aircraft land safely.

“Those two hours were not only challenging but also worrisome for all those involved in planning safe landing of the Beechcraft C-90 aircraft. Thankfully, the aircraft had fuel for two and a half hours more even after reaching Mumbai. This gave us good time to consider all possibilities and take a call,” recalled an Airports Authority official who was on duty on Thursday night.

AAI officials said that the Nagpur ATC contacted Mumbai ATC around 6.45pm to inform them that the aircraft’s wheel had fallen off in the airport premises.

“The pilot was unaware of the situation until the Mumbai ATC got in touch with Capt Kesari Singh to inform him about it. However, none of us knew which wheel of the aircraft was detached,” said the AAI official.

AAI officials at Mumbai airport said in order to understand which wheel fell off at Nagpur, Capt Singh suggested to ‘low pass’ the runway. This means the aircraft passes around 50m above (adjacent) the runway. It was during the low pass at around 7.30pm that the Mumbai ATC with the help of fire department officials learnt that the aircraft’s rear left wheel was missing.

“The pilot was cleared to conduct the ‘low pass’ immediately at around 6.45pm when the aircraft was 200Nm away from Mumbai,” said a controller at Mumbai.

A Delhi-based AAI official said that the absence of either side of the wheel is riskier as compared to issues with the nose wheel.

“This is because the two rear wheels come in contact with the runway first, followed by the nose wheel.”

“ATCos were asked to go ahead with belly landing after which the airport operator was contacted and asked to prepare for foam-based landing. Arranging for foam and making it available at the touchdown point of runway 27 took some time,” said a senior AAI official in Mumbai.

“At first, when the arrangement of foaming the runway was taking time, we were even thinking on the lines to send the aircraft back to Nagpur, however, by then the airport operator confirmed that foam was being arranged,” the official added.

The aircraft however touched down safely at 9.09pm after which the fire department officials took over and handled the situation so that the aircraft did not catch fire. Though the aircraft suffered substantial damage, there were no injuries. The mid-aged male patient, who was one of the passengers was being treated for Covid-19, was rushed to Nanavati hospital. Sources from the hospital said that the patient is on oxygen support, but he is conscious and stable.