Disaster averted on Mumbai airport runway

A Delhi-Mumbai Air India flight had a narrow escape when a dog was sighted on the main runway as the aircraft was preparing to land in Mumbai Saturday evening, officials said.

A Delhi-Mumbai Air India flight had a narrow escape when a dog was sighted on the main runway as the aircraft was preparing to land in Mumbai Saturday evening, officials said.

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The incident occurred around 6.30 pm on Saturday when flight IC-863 was cleared for landing and was approaching the main runway at Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport.

Just then, the airport safety officers in the area sighted a dog on the runway and immediately alerted Air Traffic Control (ATC), the officials said.

The ATC instructed the pilot not to land and instead circle around the airport till the runway was cleared. A few minutes later, the dog was chased off the area and the aircraft finally cleared for landing, the official said.

There were 166 passengers on board the Delhi-Mumbai flight.