Air India tyre bursts on touchdown in Mumbai

Since the landing gear had damaged, the aircraft got stuck on the main runway forcing its closure

More than 160 passengers on board an Air India flight from Nagpur had a narrow escape on Tuesday night after a tyre burst on touchdown. Since the landing gear had damaged, the aircraft got stuck on the main runway forcing its closure. The airline crew deployed emergency chutes to evacuate passengers from the left door of the aircraft. Airport sources that some fliers were bruised while sliding off the chutes.

The airline crew deployed emergency chutes to evacuate passengers from the left door of the aircraft.

While the AI spokesperson did not respond to HT’s calls, the chief of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) confirmed the incident.

“M/s AI aircraft operating AI 630 involved in incident after landing at runway 27 at Mumbai. Tyre burst after landing. Emergency evacuation carried out. Futher details awaited,” said M Sathiyavathy, who heads the DGCA. Several international flights are likely to get delayed and load passenger baggage to adjust its payload as per the airport’s smaller runway. On March 3, a Jet Airways flight had encountered a similar landing problem which led to main runway closure for 12 hours.