FIRST AI FLIGHT FROM WUHAN MADE EMERGENCY LANDING
NEW DELHI: A full emergency was declared onboard the special Air India flight — that landed in Delhi from Coronavirus-hit Wuhan city of China, last Sunday with 324 rescued Indians on board — after one of the windshields of the aircraft cracked mid-air.
› Around 9.30am, we declared an emergency and the flight was provided a slot for landing on priority.
AN OFFICIAL, Delhi ATC
NEW DELHI: A special Air India flight that evacuated 324 Indians from Wuhan, the epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak, had made an emergency landing after one of its windshields cracked midair, officials said on Friday.
A full emergency was declared and the aircraft, a Boeing 747-400, was given a priority landing slot before it landed safely at the Delhi airport and was taken to an isolation bay where people were screened for signs of infection.
The flight, which arrived on Sunday, was the second of two special services that evacuated 645 people. All of them have since tested negative for infection with the pathogen that has triggered a global health alarm after infecting more than 31,000 people and claiming the lives of 630 others in the one-and-a-half months since when it was first seen in the central Chinese city.
According to officials, full emergency, a protocol that is initiated onboard a flight in times of distress, was declared on flight AI-1349 soon after the pilots reported that the left side windshield had shattered.
The aircraft is one of the oldest in the national carrier’s fleet, with records showing its first flight on 1999.
“Around 9.30am, we declared an emergency and the flight was provided a slot for landing on priority. Ambulances and fire fighters were put on standby but the flight landed safely. The emergency was called off around 10.15am,” said an official from the Delhi air traffic control (ATC).
An officer from the DGCA confirmed the incident and said they are looking into the matter.
Captain Amitabh Singh, director of operations, Air India, said the windshield cracked during the last stage of the flight. “An urgency message was transmitted to Delhi ATC for priority landing. At no time was safety of passenger or aircraft compromised. An auto-land (system that fully automates the landing of an aircraft) was carried out on Runway 28 at Delhi airport with full precautions,” Singh said.
Global Aviation Safety expert Mark D Martin said such an incident does not spark panic as cockpit windshields are multi-layered and around three inches thick. “In case one layer shatters, others remain intact. However, to prevent further damage, the pilot needs to request immediate descend so the pressure inside the aircraft doesn’t increase and doesn’t cause any further stress on the windshield,” Martin said.
He said that possible reasons for the windshield shattering can be air pressure.