Four passengers suffer as AI Express flight develops snag
Saurabh.Sinha@timesgroup.com
New Delhi:11.02.2019
Four passengers onboard Air India Express’ Muscat-Calicut flight on Sunday had nose bleeding and some others felt ear pain as the aircraft suffered a cabin pressurisation snag soon after getting airborne. As soon as the Boeing 737 (VT-AXW) with over 180 passengers had this issue, the pilots stopped further climb and returned to land safely at Muscat within halfan-hour of take-off. The airline has reported this to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) which has launched a probe.
AI Express Flight IX 350 took off from Muscat at 3.19am (local time) Sunday. During climb at about 12,000 feet the Boeing 737’s cabin pressurization system had a snag. Passengers started experiencing discomfort, with four having nose bleed and others complaining of ear pain. The pilots immediately stopped climbing further and returned to land safely in Muscat. The aircraft had 182 passengers, three infants and crew members on board.
AI Express CEO K Shyam Sundar told TOI: “Aircraft returned (safely) to bay due to (cabin) pressurization problem. Four passengers had nose bleeding. They were treated by the airport doctor and declared fit to travel. A few other passengers who had experienced discomfort and ear pain soon became alright after the aircraft landed and they were in the terminal building.
“Replacement crew and spares reached Muscat (on) Sunday morning and the aircraft after due rectification and verification departed from Muscat to Calicut at 2.15pm (local time) with (all passengers).” Another senior official said, “The crew which operated IX 350 would have had exceeded its maximum duty time so a replacement crew had to be arranged to fly the aircraft back to Calicut once it was rectified.” Sources say the cabin pressurization issue may have been caused by turbulence.
Flight makes emergency landing in U’khand after ‘door opens mid-air
Saurabh.Sinha@timesgroup.com
New Delhi:11.02.2019
Four passengers onboard Air India Express’ Muscat-Calicut flight on Sunday had nose bleeding and some others felt ear pain as the aircraft suffered a cabin pressurisation snag soon after getting airborne. As soon as the Boeing 737 (VT-AXW) with over 180 passengers had this issue, the pilots stopped further climb and returned to land safely at Muscat within halfan-hour of take-off. The airline has reported this to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) which has launched a probe.
AI Express Flight IX 350 took off from Muscat at 3.19am (local time) Sunday. During climb at about 12,000 feet the Boeing 737’s cabin pressurization system had a snag. Passengers started experiencing discomfort, with four having nose bleed and others complaining of ear pain. The pilots immediately stopped climbing further and returned to land safely in Muscat. The aircraft had 182 passengers, three infants and crew members on board.
AI Express CEO K Shyam Sundar told TOI: “Aircraft returned (safely) to bay due to (cabin) pressurization problem. Four passengers had nose bleeding. They were treated by the airport doctor and declared fit to travel. A few other passengers who had experienced discomfort and ear pain soon became alright after the aircraft landed and they were in the terminal building.
“Replacement crew and spares reached Muscat (on) Sunday morning and the aircraft after due rectification and verification departed from Muscat to Calicut at 2.15pm (local time) with (all passengers).” Another senior official said, “The crew which operated IX 350 would have had exceeded its maximum duty time so a replacement crew had to be arranged to fly the aircraft back to Calicut once it was rectified.” Sources say the cabin pressurization issue may have been caused by turbulence.
Flight makes emergency landing in U’khand after ‘door opens mid-air
Prem Puneth
Pithoragarh:
The Pantnagar-Pithoragarh flight made an emergency landing at Pantnagar airport just five minutes after take-off on Saturday afternoon.
While officials claimed that the sudden landing was due to a technical snag, passengers onboard the nine-seater aircraft said that the door of the plane opened mid-air creating panic among the passengers. Lokesh Bora, a passenger, told TOI, “Just five minutes after the take-off around noon, the door of the aircraft suddenly burst open and air started gushing in. All of us were so panic-stricken that we didn’t know what to do. There were two children onboard who started crying profusely. I have taken so many flights but have never faced such a situation in my life.”
He added, “I was going to meet my mother in Pithoragarh. But now because of this incident, I had to cancel my plans. If the government wants more people to avail of flights on this sector which has been recently started, they should first ensure safety of passengers.” Confirming the snag, Pantnagar airport director S K Singh said, “The aircraft operated by Heritage Aviation made an emergency landing on Saturday due to some technical problem. We are looking into the matter.” He, however, denied claims of the aircraft door opening mid-air.
Pithoragarh:
The Pantnagar-Pithoragarh flight made an emergency landing at Pantnagar airport just five minutes after take-off on Saturday afternoon.
While officials claimed that the sudden landing was due to a technical snag, passengers onboard the nine-seater aircraft said that the door of the plane opened mid-air creating panic among the passengers. Lokesh Bora, a passenger, told TOI, “Just five minutes after the take-off around noon, the door of the aircraft suddenly burst open and air started gushing in. All of us were so panic-stricken that we didn’t know what to do. There were two children onboard who started crying profusely. I have taken so many flights but have never faced such a situation in my life.”
He added, “I was going to meet my mother in Pithoragarh. But now because of this incident, I had to cancel my plans. If the government wants more people to avail of flights on this sector which has been recently started, they should first ensure safety of passengers.” Confirming the snag, Pantnagar airport director S K Singh said, “The aircraft operated by Heritage Aviation made an emergency landing on Saturday due to some technical problem. We are looking into the matter.” He, however, denied claims of the aircraft door opening mid-air.
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