Emergency Landing: Air India Flight With Senior Leaders Diverted to Chennai
Late Sunday night, an Air India flight traveling from Thiruvananthapuram to Delhi made an emergency landing at Chennai airport due to a suspected radar malfunction mid-flight. On board Flight AI 2455 were several high-profile passengers including Kerala Members of Parliament K.C. Venugopal (Congress General Secretary), Adoor Prakash (UDF convenor), Kodikunnil Suresh (senior Congress leader), K. Radhakrishnan, and Tamil Nadu MP Robert Bruce.
According to Mr. Venugopal, the flight crew detected a problem with the radar, which forced the pilots to divert the plane to Chennai. He described it as “a narrow escape from a major mishap,” noting that passengers were airborne for around one hour and ten minutes before safely touching down.
Adding to the tension, the aircraft’s first landing attempt was aborted when another plane was spotted on the runway, according to Mr. Prakash. “We were seconds away from touchdown when the pilots pulled up sharply. The plane circled for about half an hour before final landing. The crew remained calm and managed the situation professionally,” he recounted.
All passengers and crew members are reported safe after the ordeal. The incident has sparked concerns about technical reliability and air traffic management, especially the risk of runway incursions. Sources indicate the initial diversion resulted from the radar issue, while the attempted landing was disrupted by the presence of another aircraft on the runway.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is expected to launch a formal investigation into both the technical malfunction and the runway close call. As of now, airport authorities have not released an official statement.
Source: Gulf News, IANS
