Close shave for Chinese airliner

Kolkata: China Eastern Airlines flight from Kolkata to Kunming was saved from what could have been a disaster at NSC Bose Airport early today.
The flight with 42 persons on board left Kolkata for Kunming at about 12.30 am. After flying for about 15 minutes the pilot contacted Air Traffic Control officers and said it wanted to land because the undercarriage was not retracting. All emergency arrangements were kept ready. The plane had fuel to fly for one hour 50 minutes. It went over Bay of Bengal, flew for nearly one hour 10 minutes and reduced the fuel. Then it came overhead Kolkata to land. Meanwhile a flight of Air India had also come to land. The AI flight was cleared to land first after which the China Eastern Airlines flight was asked to land with fire brigade, ambulance and other arrangements ready to tackle any emergency. The flight landed at about 2.20 am.
The flight was cancelled and the aircraft grounded. A Boeing flight will come from Kunming today to carry the stranded passengers and the Canadian Royal Jet-2 aircraft will be ferried to Kunming after repair.
16/03/08 The Statesman

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Categories: Airports Mar 2008, Foreign Mar 2008, Safety Mar 2008