Not trained to land in heavy fog, Air India pilot flies plane back to Kolkata

Planes of other airlines took off and landed in the Capital when visibility was as poor as their pilots were certified to operate in such conditions.

By TNN | Updated: Dec 26, 2014, 11.53 AM IST

KOLKATA: The absence of pilots trained to fly in poor visibility spoiled Christmas for more than 200 Air India passengers as their aircraft reached Delhi on Wednesday night only to return to Kolkata because the captain did not know how to land the plane in heavy fog.

Planes of other airlines—both Indian and foreign carriers—took off and landed in the Capital when visibility was as poor as their pilots were certified to operate in such conditions. Delhi airport is equipped with Category III (CAT III) Instrument Landing System (ILS) that guides trained pilots to operate in zero visibility.

Crew shortage that has been plaguing the national carrier for a while now flared up once again on Wednesday as flight delays owing to heavy fog in north India disrupted the airline's crew roster. When the 213 passengers booked on flight AI701 arrived at Kolkata airport around 3.30-4 pm to take the 5pm flight, they were told about a brief delay owing to operational reasons.

However, the delay stretched to four hours. The flight finally took off around 9pm, two hours after it was originally scheduled to reach Delhi. Passengers, however, were relieved to finally be on the way. After the two hour journey, the Boeing Dreamliner craft reached Delhi around 11pm. But instead of landing, it continued to hover over the airport enveloped by dense fog even as other flights touched down and took off.

After hovering for 15-20 minutes, the pilot decided to turn back as the fog was unlikely to dissipate. Given the fuel situation, he had to turn back when he still adequately stocked. When the captain made the announcement, some passengers cursed their bad luck, some were annoyed but most of them understood that landing was risky and it was better to be safe than sorry.

Their ordeal, however, was far from over. After landing in Kolkata around 1.15pm, they remained confined in the aircraft for nearly half hour as the aircraft crew was unsure what to do next. With most of the ground staff having retired for the night after the last flight few out, there wasn't anyone around to take charge of the situation.

"Passengers were disappointed and tired. The absence of coordination in AI worsened the situation. Even after alighting from the aircraft, we were clueless as there was no AI official around to take a call. When an executive arrived later, he wasn't in a position to take a decision," recounted IISWBM research fellow and teaching assistant Sreeja Banerjee, who was travelling to Delhi on holiday.

With the elderly and children feeling the stress, tempers became frayed. Some were angry enough to manhandle the airline executive but the situation was avoided when others intervened and started a sit-in protest instead.

Sensing the anger among passengers, the Airports Authority of India domestic manager contacted senior AI officials and asked them to act in a manner that would defuse the situation. Soon afterward, other AI officials arrived and it was announced that the passengers would be accommodated in two hotels located near the airport. By the time they checked in, it was 3am.

Some passengers whose plans had gone completely haywire cancelled the trip but around 168 passengers waited anxiously all day till the cockpit crew had taken the mandatory rest and were ready to fly again. The plane finally took off for Delhi around 4pm on Thursday.

Passengers booked on Thursday's flight AI701 may face the same ordeal as their aircraft arrived two hours late. The 248 passengers booked on the return flight to Delhi can only hope that the fog in Delhi isn't as thick. Or else, they too will be going around in circles. The airline said it was trying to do their best in a trying situation but admitted lack of CAT-III pilots added to the woes.

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Economictimes.com & Agencies

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