Air India, DGCA, Air Force initiate probe after pilot takes off early to avoid a jeep on runway at Lohegaon airport

A major tragedy was averted at the Lohegaon airport on Saturday morning after a Delhi-bound Air India flight took an early take off to avoid a jeep which was on

A major tragedy was averted at the Lohegaon airport on Saturday morning after a Delhi-bound Air India flight took an early take off to avoid a jeep which was on the runway. The aircraft received marks on its empennage area or commonly called at the tailgate area. The incident has now led to three agencies namely Air India, Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), the regulatory body for civil aviation under Ministry of Civil Aviation and the Indian Air Force, which controls the Pune airport’s runway, ordering a probe.

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The incident has raised serious questions as the flight had to take off earlier than planned to save the lives of 180 passengers onboard as well as the driver of the jeep, which was a service van. The incident came to light when the flight was being accessed at the Delhi airport. The flight took off from the Pune airport at 8:05am and landed at the Delhi airport at 10 am.

According to an Indian Air force official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, a service vehicle was cleared for routine task at the Pune airfield runway during the morning house on Saturday. The vehicle reached close to the runway at the same time when an Air India flight was on the take off roll and so, due to the presence of the vehicle near the runway, the Air India pilot had to do an earlier rotation than what was planned by the crew of the aircraft. The aircraft landed safely in Delhi and the matter is being probed by the Indian Air Force.

As per the Air India spokesperson, Dhananjay Kumar, the matter is being investigated by the engineering department of Air India since the damage needs to be accessed. He said, “The 321 aircraft that was scheduled to operate AI 825 to Srinagar was observed to have certain marks towards the empennage area. The aircraft had arrived from Pune on AI 852. The aircraft has been withdrawn for detailed investigation. The cockpit voice recorder (CVR) and digital flight data recorder (DFDR) readouts would be carried out and the findings shared appropriately.”

CVR and DFDR have been removed for further investigation by the airport authorities in Delhi. A higher official from the Pune airport stated that the pilot has conveyed to the Air Traffic Control in Pune, which comes under the air force, that he apparently saw a jeep on the runway while take off, which is why he immediately took off the flight to avoid any major tragedy.

Along with the Air Force and Air India, the DGCA has also ordered probe into the incident.

A senior official from DGCA, Mumbai, said, “AI-852 (PNQ-DEL) on February 15 was involved in a tail strike incident during take off from Pune as reported by the pilot. On arrival at Delhi, the damage was observed on fuselage skin and frames. The aircraft has been withdrawn from service for investigation. Air India has been advised to coordinate with Pune ATC also to find out any marking on the runway. The entire crew has been off-rostered (not be assigned flights till investigations are over). We are calling them for investigation to get more details.”