NEW DELHI: An Air India flight made a very heavy landing in Dubai on December 20. Luckily for everyone onboard the relatively young 5.5-year-old Airbus A320neo (VT CIQ) did not suffer structural damage when it made the heavy landing (3.5 G) and came to a stop safely. The pilot has been removed from flying duties pending investigation. The plane remained grounded in Dubai for extensive checks for a week before being allowed to fly back to Air India’s engineering base in Mumbai.
Flight tracking sites show the plane operated to Mumbai on December 27 with its cruising altitude below 10,000 feet, indicating an unpressurised ferry.This means it came home for repairs after being allowed one landing which aircraft-makers allow after studying the digital flight data recorder (DFDR) to the airline’s engineering base as a “substandard ferry (without passengers) flight.”
An Air India spokesperson said: “An investigation has already been initiated, as per DGCA norms. The pilot was appropriately trained and licensed to fly the aircraft. He has been off-rostered till the process of inquiry is on as per norms.”
The heavy landing happened when the aircraft operated as AI 933 from Kochi to Dubai. Flight tracking websites show that the next flight was to Mumbai on December 27. It has not flown since, as per flight tracking sites.
Senior pilots who have operated the A320 for decades say: “This aircraft made a landing into Dubai exceeding the manufacturer’s landing gear structural limitation. It can cause extensive damage to the landing gear structure. Depending on the age of the aircraft and metal fatigue, a young plane may withstand that particular landing but for subsequent landings the structural integrity can fail leading to structural failure.”
Major engineering investigations have to be carried out before an aircraft that has suffered such a landing is released for further revenue passenger flights so as to ensure its structural integrity is intact. Aircraft-makers often allow airlines to operate a “substandard ferry back to major engineering base” on such planes from the place where they might have suffered damage during a hard landing after studying the digital flight data recorder (DFDR), say pilots.
In this case also, the hard landing happened at an airport which was not the airline’s (AI) engineering base. So the plane flew to Mumbai with a crushing altitude of less than 10,000 feet at which it does not need a pressurised cabin.
Flight tracking sites show the plane operated to Mumbai on December 27 with its cruising altitude below 10,000 feet, indicating an unpressurised ferry.This means it came home for repairs after being allowed one landing which aircraft-makers allow after studying the digital flight data recorder (DFDR) to the airline’s engineering base as a “substandard ferry (without passengers) flight.”
An Air India spokesperson said: “An investigation has already been initiated, as per DGCA norms. The pilot was appropriately trained and licensed to fly the aircraft. He has been off-rostered till the process of inquiry is on as per norms.”
The heavy landing happened when the aircraft operated as AI 933 from Kochi to Dubai. Flight tracking websites show that the next flight was to Mumbai on December 27. It has not flown since, as per flight tracking sites.
Senior pilots who have operated the A320 for decades say: “This aircraft made a landing into Dubai exceeding the manufacturer’s landing gear structural limitation. It can cause extensive damage to the landing gear structure. Depending on the age of the aircraft and metal fatigue, a young plane may withstand that particular landing but for subsequent landings the structural integrity can fail leading to structural failure.”
Major engineering investigations have to be carried out before an aircraft that has suffered such a landing is released for further revenue passenger flights so as to ensure its structural integrity is intact. Aircraft-makers often allow airlines to operate a “substandard ferry back to major engineering base” on such planes from the place where they might have suffered damage during a hard landing after studying the digital flight data recorder (DFDR), say pilots.
In this case also, the hard landing happened at an airport which was not the airline’s (AI) engineering base. So the plane flew to Mumbai with a crushing altitude of less than 10,000 feet at which it does not need a pressurised cabin.
