The plane veered off into a grass patch off the runway and then took off again

This blade of grass made it all the way from Bengaluru to Hyderabad

Pilots aborted landing in Bengaluru due to poor visibility

MUMBAI: About 185 people on board a GoAir flight from Nagpur had a miraculous escape earlier on Monday after their aircraft touched down at Bengaluru airport runway, only to speed straight off the end into unpaved ground from where the A320 Neo jet accelerated and lifted off again, leaving behind a trail of flattened grass blades. The aircraft then circled over Bengaluru, but poor visibility forced the pilots to divert to Hyderabad where it landed safely.The incident occurred around 7.30 am after GoAir flight G8-811 carrying 180 passengers, with an expat pilotin-command, was cleared to land on runway 09 of Bengaluru airport.“Due to poor visibility at Bengaluru, the pilots aborted the landing and initiated a go-around,” said a Directorate General of Civil Aviation official, adding, “After landing at Hyderabad, mud deposits were observed on left main landing gear indicating the aircraft had rolled onto unpaved surface.” Director general of civil aviation Arun Kumar said the crew has been grounded, adding, “Aircraft has been grounded in Hyderabad for probe.”Due to poor visibility at Bengaluru, the pilots aborted the landing and initiated a go-around,” said a Directorate General of Civil Aviation official, adding, “After landing at Hyderabad, mud deposits were observed on left main landing gear indicating the aircraft had rolled onto unpaved surface.”Director general of civil aviation Arun Kumar said the crew has been grounded.The DGCA said that the aircraft has also been grounded in Hyderabad for detailed investigation. “Data from the Digital Flight Data Recorder along with other recorders is being analysed,” he added. Meanwhile, GoAir attempted to dispose of the incident as a mere go-around. “GoAir flight G8-811 from Nagpur to Bengaluru had carried out go-around at Bengaluru and diverted to Hyderabad. All the passengers, crew and aircraft landed safely at Hyderabad,’’ said the GoAir statement. “This reportable incident was reported immediately to the DGCA. Pending the investigation by GoAir and the regulator, the flight crew have been kept off flying duty,’’ the statement added.However, air safety experts have red-flagged GoAir’s statement and raised questions about the incident. “If it was a mere go-around, why was the incident immediately reported to the DGCA? Also, why keep the flight crew off-duty because a mere go-around is non-punitive? If for every goaround the crew are kept offduty, then many pilots would be grounded, especially on days when visibility is poor,” an airline examiner said.Incidentally, live flight tracking app, Flightradar24, showed the GoAir A320 aircraft having gone straight off the runway end of the Bengaluru airport, and then lift off and turn left. Capt Mohan Ranganathan, an airsafety expert said: “After landing, if the pilots lost sight of runway, the safest thing to do is stop, even if the aircraft has gone off the paved surface. Had the aircraft hit an obstacle during acceleration phase, the effect would have been fatal.’’ Another factor that proved lucky was that despite rolling onto grass, one engine survived the ordeal. “The left engine stalled during the goaround. Though the reason isn’t known, it’s possible that it stalled due to foreign object ingestion when it moved on the unpaved ground, ’’ said a senior commander, adding, “Had the right engine stalled too, the situation would have been disastrous. With both engines flamed out , the pilots would have found it difficult to put the aircraft safely on ground in poor visibility.”Bengaluru airport lies at an elevation of over 3000 feet, but luckily for GoAir passengers, the terrain isn’t like Mangaluru airport which has a table top runway. Also, unlike Mangaluru airport there was no localizer or other navigation aid installed near the runway end which would have acted as an obstacle along the path of the errant aircraft. In May 2010, an Air India Express Boeing 737 aircraft had similarly gone off the Mangalururunway during landing, as the pilots opted for a late goaround which meant the aircraft could not lift off in time. It hit a localizer near the runway end and crashed into valley, killing 158 people.