DGCA to audit operator after air ambulance belly-landing at Mumbai airport

Aviation regulator DGCA will conduct an audit of Jet Serve Aviation Private Limited whose aircraft belly-landed at the Mumbai airport on Thursday after losing one of the wheels, officials said on Friday.

The air ambulance flight was supposed to head from Nagpur to Hyderabad, but lost a wheel during takeoff from the Nagpur airport. It safely belly-landed at the Mumbai airport on a foam carpet, they said.

A foam carpet is created on the runway by spreading foam using fire extinguishers so that the plane does not catch fire during an emergency landing.

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The officials said the company, Jet Serve Aviation, will undergo a full audit to understand the cause of this incident.

Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri had tweeted on Thursday, "A Jet Serve ambulance with a patient onboard lost a wheel during takeoff from Nagpur. Showing immense presence of mind Capt Kesari Singh belly landed the aircraft on foam carpeting in Mumbai."

"All onboard are safe. Commendable effort by DGCA (Directorate General of Civil Aviation), CSMIA (Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai) and other agencies," he added.

In a detailed statement on the incident, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) in Mumbai said a full emergency was declared for the non-scheduled Beechcraft VT-JIL aircraft en route from Nagpur to Mumbai.

"The flight carrying two crew members, one patient, a relative and one doctor did a belly-landing at CSMIA at 21:09 hrs," it noted.

The airport's emergency response team including the fire and rescue responders, follow-me vehicles, CISF, medical team among many others was activated instantly and on standby to provide immediate assistance to ensure the safe evacuation of the passengers, it said.

"As a precautionary method, CSMIA also foamed RWY (runway) 27 in order to avoid the aircraft catching fire. All passengers were evacuated safely and flights operating in and out of CSMIA remain on schedule," the statement read.