An Air India flight en route from Tiruchirapalli (Trichy) to Sharjah encountered a technical snag or a hydraulic failure mid air on Friday, triggering panic at the airport.
The aircraft had to circle the airspace above Trichy to burn off excess fuel before attempting to land back at the Tiruchirapalli airport.
Following the incident, the airport was put on high alert with more than 20 ambulances and fire tenders deployed as a precautionary measure to handle any potential emergency.
“Air India flight from Trichy to Sharjah faced a technical problem (hydraulic failure) and is rounding in air space to decrease the fuel before landing at Trichy airport,” airport director Gopalakrishnan said.
Fortunately, the flight landed safely at the Trichy airport, much to the relief of passengers and the crew on board.
In a statement, the Ministry of Civil Aviation said the Directorate General of Civil Aviation closely monitored the situation as it unfolded.
The landing gear functioned normally, allowing the plane to land safely without any untoward incident, it said.
“The Air India Express Flight IX 613 from Tiruchirapalli to Sharjah has landed safely at Tiruchirapalli airport. DGCA was monitoring the situation. The landing gear was opening. The flight has landed normally. The airport was put on alert mode,” the ministry’s statement read