JFK-bound AI jet lands in Newark as key systems fail

THE FLIGHT INVOLVED WAS AI101, AND HAD 370 PEOPLE ON BOARD. THE AIRCRAFT WAS A NINEYEAROLD BOEING 777300

NEW DELHI: A 15-hour-long Air India flight from New Delhi to New York battled bad weather and multiple systems failure on September 11 before landing at Newark airport in New Jersey instead of John F Kennedy International airport, according to officials and reports that on Monday detailed tense moments following a rare combination of electronic malfunction.

According to NDTV, which first reported the news, the flight involved was AI-101, and had 370 people on board.

“Auto land is not available. We have multiple instrument failure,” one of the pilots was heard telling air traffic controllers at JFK, according to audio files available on LiveATC.net, a website that archives ATC radio transmissions.

The pilots went on to inform ATC that the issue was “with the ILS”, referring to the Instrument Landing Cluster which is responsible for the precise lining up and descent of an aircraft onto a runway – by far the most challenging part of a flight.

The ILS becomes more crucial in bad weather conditions such as the ones faced by the pilots of AI-101, when they could not visually estimate an approach because of heavy cloud cover.

The aircraft was a nine-yearold Boeing 777-300, according to NDTV. A Boeing spokesperson did not respond to requests for a comment.

“The weather was bad at New York airport and due to the snag, radar was not visible in the cockpit. The pilot had to carry out landing without the help of radar and since weather was bad in New York, the aircraft was diverted to Newark,” an Air India spokesperson told Hindustan Times.