Air India flight diverted to Chennai on weather radar issue: DGCA; airline says crew followed standard procedures

“Our pilots are well-trained to handle such situations, and in this case, they followed standard procedures throughout the flight,” the airline said.

An Air India flight from Thiruvananthapuram to Delhi with 150 passengers, including a few MPs from Kerala and Tamil Nadu, on board made an emergency landing at the Chennai Airport after an aborted landing attempt, causing anxious moments to those on the aircraft. Suspected malfunctioning of the aircraft’s weather radar is cited as the reason for the aircraft being diverted to the airport here.

Congress General Secretary K C Venugopal, who was one of the passengers, alleged that an alert Captain of the Air India flight 2455 saved the life of everyone on board after he spotted another plane on the runway and pulled the aircraft up. However, the Director General of Civil Aviation rejected his claim, saying the landing was aborted not because of the presence of another aircraft on the runway, but because a previous flight had reported suspected debris on the runway.

Besides Venugopal, Kodikunnil Suresh, K Radhakrishnan, and Robert Bruce from Tamil Nadu were on the flight. 

Not just Venugopal, another passenger James Wilson, also said the flight of the aircraft in which they were flying announced that the first attempt to land at Chennai Airport was aborted due to presence of an aircraft on the same runway. “It was quite a harrowing experience. Tension peaked after the aborted landing attempt where the Captain announced as avoiding hitting another aircraft,” he said. 

Passengers said the flight, which was scheduled to depart Thiruvananthapuram at 7.15, took off at 8.17 after a delay of an hour and they began experiencing heavy turbulence during the journey. About an hour after the take-off, the flight was diverted to Chennai due to a technical snag and it circled around the airport for over an hour to burn extra fuel before attempting a landing. 

“During this time period, pilots suspected a weather radar malfunction. However, as it was approaching the runway, it was instructed by the air traffic control tower to abort landing because a previous flight had reported suspected debris on the runway,” the DGCA said in a statement. 

An inspection of the runway did not find anything untoward and the aircraft was given clearance for landing. “In the meantime, the incoming AI 2455 aircraft was advised to go around as per standard procedure. This was not due to the presence of an aircraft on the runway at that time,” the statement added. The Chennai Airport also issued an identical statement.

After the failed attempt, the flight safely landed the second time at 10.39 pm, Chennai Airport authorities said. Air India said in a statement that all the affected passengers were accommodated on alternative flights to Delhi and the aircraft involved in the incident has also resumed commercial operations since no issues were found with it. 

The airline also said a go-around was instructed by Chennai ATC during the first attempted landing at Chennai airport, not because of the presence of another aircraft on the runway. “Our pilots are well-trained to handle such situations, and in this case, they followed standard procedures throughout the flight. We understand that such an experience can be unsettling and regret the inconvenience the diversion may have caused to you. However, safety is always our priority,” the statement added.