Five passengers who need to report for work Friday were accommodated on two other flights while others were shifted to hotels near the airport. The AI 915 Thiruvananthapuram-Dammam flight with 82 passengers including two infants returned to the airport here safely though its tire burst while landing.
The A-330 aircraft returned at 1955 hrs after more than an hour’s flight after takeoff when a crew member spotted a warning on the sensor about a snag in the cabin door. It was piloted back to safety and towed to the parking bay. The airport had to be closed for four hours due to hard landing.
Officials said the fuel, filled for a five-hour flight, had to be burned before landing to make the landing safer. Sources at the airport said the director general of civil aviation (DGCA) S Naseem Zaidi had asked the employees on duty during the takeoff to go on leave till the preliminary inquiry was completed.
