Kochi: Lifting and towing away 50 tonnes of precious metal was no mean feat, the biggest such exercise by technicians at the Cochin International Airport.
On Monday night, more than 50 men braved the chill and rain to retrieve the Gulf Air A320 from the slush into which it had careened after skidding off the runway, and tow it to a vacant bay with a view to making the runway fully operational the next morning. "It was a very complicated operation as the nose wheel had broken. Both engines were filled with slush and grass. There was no power on board. And, worst, there was no way we could steer the aircraft with its front wheel gone," a senior officer, who was part of the retrieval team, told ToI.
Technicians had summoned three cranes capable of lifting 100 tonnes, 60 tonnes and 40 tonnes, respectively, along with a JCB to add muscle to the operation. "But we didn't use them fearing that these crude machines would damage the fuselage of the aircraft. There are designated areas on the body where we could use pressure like a jack, etc.," he explained.
The first task was to lift the nose from the slush. "For this we kept an airbag, which is a multi-layered rectangular balloon inflated with compressed air, under the nose. The bag can lift up to 100 tonnes. But great care has to be taken while inflating as the aluminium-alloy body is quite vulnerable to excess pressure as it can get dented beyond repair," he pointed out.
31/08/11 Times of India
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