india

Updated: Jun 08, 2019 15:59 IST

Flight operations at Goa’s Dabolim International Airport resumed following a two-hour stoppage Saturday afternoon after a detachable fuel tank attached to a MiG-29K aircraft fell on the runway, spilling fuel and sparking a fire, an official of the Airport Authority of India said.

“Due to the jettisoned fuel tank on the runway during MIG sortie, the operations are closed for two hours at Goa airport. Pl bear with us,” AAI Goa had tweeted from its official Twitter handle after the accident.

The MiG 29K squadron which is the carrier version of the MiG 29 aircraft is stationed at the Goa INS Hansa naval base. The Goa civilian airport shares the runway with the Navy which uses a slot between 8 am and 1 pm for sorties and other exercises.

The MiG 29K squadron is assigned to the country’s lone aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya which is stationed at the Seabird Naval base at Karwar in Karnataka. When not on the carrier the MiG 29K are stationed at Vasco.

The external fuel tank is attached to the fighter aircraft to allow it to fly a longer distance