Aviation regulator DGCA has suspended the licence of Jabalpur airport following an incident early this month, in which a herd of wild boars marched onto the runway during the taxiing of a SpiceJet flight causing the pilot to lose control of the aircraft due to which it swing off the runway.
In a related development, Airports Authority of India (AAI), which runs Jabalpur Airport, has suspended three Air Traffic Controllers (ATCOs) in connection with the incident, sources said.
"After investigation into the incident at the Jabalpur Airport on December 4, Director General of Civil Aviation M Sathiyavathy has ordered suspending the airport's licence," DGCA sources said.
The 53 people, including 49 passengers onboard SpiceJet flight SG 2458 from Mumbai to Jabalpur, had a close shave when a herd of wild boars came across the Bombardier Q400 aircraft just after landing.
Seeing the herd, the pilot had to apply emergency brakes and due to the impact aircraft's main and nose landing gear collapsed.
Following suspension of its licence, no flight operations can take place from Jabalpur airport, sources said adding that the AAI has been told to remove deficiencies including proper fencing of the operational area.
Meanwhile, an AAI official in New Delhi said that the Authority was yet to get an order in this regard while confirming the suspension of three ATCOs for the incident.
