Mumbai: In a classic example of age catching up with the national carrier, pilots have blamed the 22-year-old Airbus 320 Classic for the snag that caused the burst tyre in the aircraft flying from Nagpur on Tuesday night, which led to an emergency evacuation of the aircraft and a subsequent disruption of airport functions.
The Air India aircraft that was involved in the incident was manufactured in 1994 and is one of the oldest in this class of planes, which its pilots have in official correspondence often referred to as snag-prone and problematic.
These aircraft are among the oldest A320s in the world and have been regularly giving the national carrier different problems over the years.
The aircraft's main wheels on the left burst as it landed at around 10.45 pm carrying 160 passengers. As its wheel-rims dragged along the runway surface, it sent sparks flying. As the aircraft jerked and the pilots heard a loud thud, they immediately ordered the passengers to be evacuated and chutes were deployed for the same. Airport sources revealed that the vigorous jerk caused by the burst tyre and the evacuation that followed resulted in some passengers reporting backaches and sprains.
Officials from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) probing the incident said that it was a serious accident averted. "We are probing the possibility of a brake failure," an official said, adding that they were aware of previous incidents involving the Classic A320's and would take that into their consideration in their probe.
17/03/16 Aditya Anand/Mumbai Mirror
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The Air India aircraft that was involved in the incident was manufactured in 1994 and is one of the oldest in this class of planes, which its pilots have in official correspondence often referred to as snag-prone and problematic.
These aircraft are among the oldest A320s in the world and have been regularly giving the national carrier different problems over the years.
The aircraft's main wheels on the left burst as it landed at around 10.45 pm carrying 160 passengers. As its wheel-rims dragged along the runway surface, it sent sparks flying. As the aircraft jerked and the pilots heard a loud thud, they immediately ordered the passengers to be evacuated and chutes were deployed for the same. Airport sources revealed that the vigorous jerk caused by the burst tyre and the evacuation that followed resulted in some passengers reporting backaches and sprains.
Officials from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) probing the incident said that it was a serious accident averted. "We are probing the possibility of a brake failure," an official said, adding that they were aware of previous incidents involving the Classic A320's and would take that into their consideration in their probe.
17/03/16 Aditya Anand/Mumbai Mirror
