Over 160 passengers and crew on-board a Lufthansa flight from Munich to the megapolis had a providential escape here last night after all four back tyres of the Airbus aircraft were damaged while landing.
The 163 passengers on-board the Airbus A330 flight were be deplaned through stairs and none of them were hurt, the airline said
The incident that took place at 2250 hrs yesterday forced the Mumbai airport to shift the operations to the secondary runway, leading to cancellation of many international flights besides delays.
While the aviation regulator DGCA has initiated a probe into the incident, experts say the damage to the tyres could have been caused either by manual braking or landing at a speed higher than the prescribed limit. Besides the four tyres at the back of the aircraft, there are two in front.
"It can't be a tyre issue. It is next to impossible that all four rear tyres of the aircraft get damaged at the same time. In this case, prima facie, it appears to be either a snag in the braking system or the pilot landing at an unusually high speed," a former DGCA official told PTI.
He also ruled out any possibility of the incident occurring due to any problem in the runway surface.
There has not been any instances of such an accident being reported in the country in recent memory though aviation industry officials said such accidents are not very rare.
The delays in flight operations are because the Mumbai airport, despite being the second busiest airport in the country, has only one main runway, while all other major airports have two runways. The accident took place on Runway 27, which is the main runway.
The main runway was cleared for operations late evening after the aircraft was towed away to the parking bay.
In a statement, Lufthansa said, "On May 13, at 10:50 pm local time, four tyres of the flight LH764 from Munich to Mumbai were damaged. The incident happened on Runway 27."
Asked how the tyres got damaged simultaneously, Lufthansa in a late evening statement said, "the regulator, DCGA, is in charge of investigating the incident and we have to wait for the outcome. We certainly won't join into speculation but cooperate very closely with the local authorities."
The German airline also said it cancelled the return flight (LH765) to Munich scheduled for today from the city.
The cancelled flight was to ferry 223 passengers, who would be booked on other flights.
Meanwhile, the airline said it is sending an Airbus A340 to Mumbai to ferry the passengers who were booked on flight LH765 earlier.
The Lufthansa accident caused jam on the runway leading to
cancellations and delay of several flights. While four flights -- United Airlines, Singapore, Air India and Cathay Pacific -- were cancelled, a number of flights got delayed.
In a statement, Singapore Airlines said its Airbus A380 flight (SQ423) bound for Singapore from Mumbai last night was delayed due to the temporary runway closure.
The airline said the passengers have been provided with hotel accommodation and a revised departure time will be determined when the runway is reopened by the authorities.
