Mumbai: 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.
24/03/15 Aditya Anand & Yogesh Naik/Mumbai Mirror
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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.
24/03/15 Aditya Anand & Yogesh Naik/Mumbai Mirror
