Kerala CM, ministers have narrow escape on snag-hit flight

Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan and two of his Cabinet colleagues had a narrow escape when an Indian Airlines flight landed safely at Nagpur last morning after one of its twin engines failed.
IC 466 Thiruvananthapuram-New Delhi flight had 136 passengers, including Home Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan and Water Resources Minister N K Premachandran, on board when it hit a snag and was diverted to Nagpur.
Sources said the brand new Airbus A321, with a capacity for 172 passengers, left here on time at 6.15am and took for New Delhi after a stopover at Kochi. But the pilot noticed the engine snag and decided for emergency landing with the VIPs on board.
The aircraft landed at Nagpur around 10.30am (its scheduled time of arrival in New Delhi) and all passengers were taken in another aircraft to New Delhi. The rescheduled flight reached Delhi at 3.50pm. Premachandran said on the phone that he heard a loud noise from near the fuselage, after which the sound of the engine grew feeble. There was some panic on board when the pilot asked passengers to fasten seat belts and announced that he was diverting the aircraft to Nagpur for emergency landing.
A senior Indian airline official said nearly a dozen A321 series brand new aircraft had been in operation for nearly a year and this was the first such instance for the new fleet.
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Categories: Air India Domestic Jul 2009, Airports Jul 2009, NACIL Jul 2009, Safety Jul 2009