Jet Airways pilots suspended after Heathrow near-miss

NEW DELHI: Passengers on board a London-Mumbai Jet Airways flight had a narrow escape after it flew just metres above the Heathrow airport boundary wall and vehicles

Published on: Oct 7, 2016, 07:13:45 IST

By Tushar Srivastava

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NEW DELHI: Passengers on board a London-Mumbai Jet Airways flight had a narrow escape after it flew just metres above the Heathrow airport boundary wall and vehicles on the other side as it took off.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has suspended the captain and co-pilot of the flight for maintaining an “unsafe altitude” and the probe has been transferred to the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) — a specialised unit that investigates serious incidents and accidents.

Sources said the incident took place on August 30. The pilots, sources said, did an intersection take-off at Heathrow, one where the aircraft — a wide-body Boeing 777 in this case — doesn’t use the full length of the runway. “After the take-off, the aircraft maintained an unsafe altitude as it crossed the airport boundary wall,” said an official on condition of anonymity .

The incident, sources said, came to light when locals complained about the low-flying aircraft to London Police, which brought it to the notice of Heathrow Air Traffic Control officials. The incident was then communicated to the DGCA.

“We are probing the matter,” a Jet Airways spokesperson said.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Tushar Srivastava
Tushar was part of Hindustan Times’ nationwide network of correspondents that brings news, analysis and information to its readers. He no longer works with the Hindustan Times.

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