Monday, February 09, 2009
A collision between an Air India passenger aircraft and an Air Force helicopter was narrowly averted at the Mumbai airport on Monday morning.
An Air India domestic flight IC 866 to Delhi with 150 passengers was cleared by Mumbai's Air Traffic Control for take-off.
As the Air India plane reached the runway and was about to give full throttle, the Air Traffic Control informed the pilot about the Air Force helicopters, which were part of President Pratibha Patil's convoy, were about to land.
The ATC asked the pilot to abort the take-off. The pilot then applied the brakes on the aircraft. Almost at the same time, the three helicopters landed.
The tyres of the plane were changed after the wear and tear caused by the plane braking at the last moment. The plane took off after the tyres were changed.
Later, a statement was issued by the Rashtrapati Bhawan saying, "We took off in the Presidential chopper at 9:30 am from Mumbai. We did not see anything amiss. We landed in Gondia at the right time. The President is fine and going about her work."
"We have no idea whether anything was amiss in the schedule of the chopper or whether there was a near disaster. It certainly didn't seem like it," the statement added.
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