Knew lives were at stake: Officer who helped avert tragedy
“For some reason, I kept watching the plane as it was speeding on the runway,” recalled Ravi Kanth Avala, a Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) head constable who averted a major tragedy by spotting a technical malfunction in an air ambulance, at the Nagpur airport late on Thursday.
The plane carrying a total of five people, including a patient and a doctor, later belly-landed at the Mumbai airport under full emergency protocols.
The air ambulance -- a chartered flight with the registration VT-JIL -- took off from Bagdogra for Mumbai with five people on board, but had a stopover at Nagpur for re-fuelling around 2.30 am.
Avala was deployed at the watchtower near the runway of the Nagpur airport. Around 5.50pm, when the Beechcraft King Air C90 plane was taking off, Avala noticed that its rear wheel “fell off in the air”. “The moment it took off, the rear left wheel of the plane broke and got separated. The speed of the aircraft was such that the detached wheel went rolling at least half a kilometre ahead, towards the left of the runway, before it came to halt. The plane, however, took off, unaffected,” said Avala.
Sensing the gravity of the incident, the 48-year-old head constable immediately rushed towards the runway, barely 300 metres from watchtower number 12, and alerted the Nagpur SOCC (security operational control centre), which in turn reported the matter to the air traffic control (ATC).
“I went to the spot where the wheel fell. Since it was a charter jet, I was sure it would land somewhere within 2-3 hours maximum. I also knew that such planes have a capacity of 7-8 passengers and therefore lives are at stake. I didn’t know that it’s an air ambulance carrying a Covid-19 patient...i immediately reported the matter to my superiors who further alerted the authorities concerned,” he said.
“The Nagpur ATC quickly informed the pilot of the aircraft and arrangements were made at Mumbai airport for safe landing,” the Central Industrial Security Force said in a statement.
The plane landed on a foamed runway at the Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport at about 9:09pm on Thursday and rescue authorities evacuated those on board.
“Had head constable Avala not shown alertness, a major tragedy could have occurred during the landing of the aircraft..,” the CISF statement said.
On Friday, the CISF announced a cash reward of ₹10,000, the top force honour of a DG commendation disc and certificate for Avala.
Avala, who has been posted at Nagpur airport since 2017, said he feels fortunate to have saved a tragedy from unfolding
Meanwhile, senior officials at the Airport Authority of India said that after learning about absence of rear left wheel, the pilot requested the ATC to get in touch with the aircraft type’s (C-90) expert from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation to figure out the best possible procedure to be followed in the situation. DGCA director general Arun Kumar said that investigation will reveal the facts. “We would not like to speculate,” he added. The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau, however, confirmed that they have taken over the investigation.