NEW DELHI: Air India ’s “fab four” pilots — Captains Rustom Palia and Sushant Singh (second-in-command) and co-pilots Captains R S Bhatti and R S Vikas — have given the airline a chance to pat itself on the back after a very long time.Their skilful landing of a Delhi-New York JFK nonstop this September 11 when the Boeing 777 saw several systems, including instrument landing system (ILS), failing one after the other on final approach in the Big Apple saved 370 lives on board and prevented another tragedy in NYC on 9/11’s 17th anniversary. They landed the plane at Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR).In a statement on Tuesday, AI said the pilots decided to go around at JFK due to unstable approach.“The decision to go-around and divert was commendable and done in the interest of flight safety. The flight also carried more than adequate fuel reserves. The radio altimeters failed which in turn rendered TCAS ((traffic collision avoidance system) and ILS nonfunctional. The experience and expertise of our cockpit crew came to the fore and they landed safely at the alternate airport at Newark (EWR). The crew carefully weighed all options limited by terminal failure, adverse weather and diverted towards Newark. Besides ILS there are several other approach categories used by modern aircraft ... Loss of some instruments is not a serious cause of concern as our pilots are well trained to handle these exigencies,” AI said.The airline acknowledged the cockpit crew made the landing “braving adverse weather conditions and unexpected technical issues, and proving once again the class, expertise and experience of Air India’s pilots to face any such eventuality and come out in flying colours. The professional approach with which they navigated the flight to land safely speaks volumes of Air India’s enviable safety record based on the airline’s strong foundations of training, engineering and maintenance standards and skillset of its operations crew.”The airline’s statement added: “With its rich legacy of flying for over eight decades, Air India accords top priority to quality and safety standards and training of its human resources. Over and above the mandated training, Air India Pilots are given training to handle all emergencies in simulators and undergo specialized (training). This has further enhanced crew coordination and timely assessment of situation.”