india

Updated: Nov 15, 2019 01:05 IST

A GoAir flight from Nagpur to Bengaluru this week veered off the runway and onto an unpaved surface while landing in poor visibility, forcing the pilots to abort the attempt and take-off again, officials said on Thursday while announcing the suspension of the pilots over what appeared to be a potentially serious incident.

The incident, which took place early on Monday morning, involved an Airbus A320Neo aircraft with 170 passengers on board. An aviation official aware of the details said one of the engines stalled during the botched landing, bringing back fears over a specific type of engines that have shown a pattern of failing and has forced authorities to ask airlines that use them to carry out replacements. A GoAir spokesperson said flight G8-811 had carried out a go-around — the technical term for an aborted landing — at Bengaluru airport but denied that there were issues with the engine.

“All the passengers, crew and aircraft landed safely at Hyderabad… We are investigating. We have grounded the flight crew and have called them for further investigation,” a senior Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) official said, asking not to be named.

After landing at Hyderabad, mud deposits were found on the main left landing gear, indicating the aircraft had rolled on to an unpaved area off the Bengaluru airport runway, the person quoted in the first instance said.

While the two pilots operating the flight have been taken off duty, the aircraft has been grounded at Hyderabad.

A Bengaluru airport official, asking not to be named, too said the aircraft had veered onto a grassy area. After lifting off again, it waited for an attempt to land but was finally diverted to Hyderabad after there was no improvement in visibility.

“All the data related to this incident including the digital flight data recorder (DFDR) have been obtained and are being investigated,” a DGCA official said.

Aviation regulator DGCA asked GoAir and Indigo Airlines – the two operators of A320Neo jets -- to ensure that planes that have clocked more than 2,900 hours of flying must have at least one engine that is not the Pratt and Whitney model that has been linked to in-flight shutdowns.