The last time a big plane landed in Juhu was in 1972, when a Japanese commercial liner accidentally touched down and overran the runway.At 1.30 pm today, a Hercules C-130J, one of the largest cargo carriers in the world, will land at the Juhu aerodrome, which operates only helicopters and small aircraft.The brief landing, sources told Mirror, will be carried out by the Indian Air Force as part of a terror preparedness exercise. The aim is to check if a C-130J, whose main purpose is to carry troops, can land in the short Juhu strip if Mumbai’s main airport comes under attack.The last time a fixed-wing aircraft landed in Juhu was in 1972, when a Japanese commercial airliner with 108 passengers and 14 crew members landed by mistake and overran the runway. (See pic on page 8) Eleven people were injured and the aircraft had to be written off.The C-130J has a payload of 20 tonnes and is used to transport soldiers, armoured carriers and Humvees. The aircraft, operated by the Veiled Vipers or 77 Squadron, was chosen by the Indian Air Force as it can land and take-off from improvised or short runways like Juhu even without lights, whose maintenance and importance has been long ignored. Air Force sources in Mumbai confirmed the carrier will land from the seaside and not leave the 3,750-metre runway.Recent times have seen efforts made to declare the runway non-operational. Activists and offshore companies for whom the airstrip is crucial protested these moves and succeeded in keeping the airport operational.There have seen several threat calls to airlines and the airport in the last few months. While carriers like Air India have got hijack threats, terror warnings have been found scribbled on the airport toilets.Defence sources said while Delhi has the Palam facility in case the Indira Gandhi International Airport comes under attack, Mumbai so far has no alternative landing facilities.“The plane will remain at Juhu for 10 minutes and depart to its base,” said Juhu airport director VK Puniyal. “This is being done to test whether the Hercules can use the runway.’The aircraft will be operated from Ghaziabad’s Hindon airbase and return within 15 minutes. Sources told Mirror the aircraft will land on runway 08, taxi down, turn and line up for takeoff immediately.The landing and take-off will be closely coordinated with the Mumbai ATC, which will put commercial planes on hold for a few minutes as the Hercules lands and takes off.Though it will land from the seaside, the Hercules will approach Mumbai like any other commercial plane. It will branch out during the final approach and head over sea, before making an about turn to land.“The aircraft was chosen for the operation due to its technology and configuration that enable it to perform precision low-level flying, airdrops, and landing in blackout conditions,” said an official.