AI Express flight brushes against wall at Tiruchi airport, all passengers safe

An Air India Express Trichy-Dubai flight hit the compound wall of the origin airport. Photos showed the wall broken and the underbelly of the plane badly scrapped. The pilot however continued to operate the aeroplane saying the systems were operatinf normally.

The aircraft, which took off at 1:30 am was finally diverted to Mumbai at 5:35 am.

“The pilot in command was D. Ganesh Babu who has flying experience on the B 737 aircraft of 3600 hours including about 500 hours as Commander. The First Officer was Capt. Anurag who has an experience of about 3000 hours on the B 737. The two pilots have been derostered pending investigation,” said a statement.

Following the incident, minister Suresh Prabhu announced he has ordered to put in place a third party professional organisation to look into various safety aspects at Air India.

“In order to have continuous attention towards air safety, I have also ordered concerned officials to put in place a regular "safety compliance report" of all airlines,” he said.