With Manmohan Singh on board, Air India One nearly crashed during Moscow landing in 2007

NEW DELHI: Sources told TOI that on November 11, 2007, Air India One flying the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on an official visit to Russia did not lower its landing gear as required when it was approaching to land in Moscow. The crew of the Boeing 747 did so only after being told by the Moscow ATC that the aircraft wheels were not down and warning lights in the cockpit.

The flight's data recorder (FDR) — which preserves recent history of a flight through the recording of dozens of parameters collected several times per second) —show that the VVIP aircraft flew below the 'electronic glide slope' for a while before corrective action was taken. The electronic glide slope is the flight path a descending aircraft has to follow to ensure it gently touches down on the runway. Despite repeated attempts, AI did not respond.

TOI spoke to many pilots to understand if safety procedures were breached on that VVIP flight. "What is perplexing is that according to the FDR data of this flight, the aircraft descended to a rather low height before corrective action was taken. Simultaneously, the ATC warned the aircraft that its landing gear is not down and alarm bell sounded in cockpit," said a senior commander who trains and examines junior pilots.

Some pilots had a possible explanation for the late lowering of landing gear. "On a VVIP flight it may be decided to bring the landing gear down at a little later stage. The reason being the moment wheels are brought out, drag increases and that leads to more noise disturbance on the aircraft. So it may have been possible the landing gear was brought out late to keep the flight quiet for the PM on board," said a pilot.