– M Rafi Ahmed
All praise to Almighty as the 250 odd Haj pilgrims landed safely yesterday at Lucknow airport amidst smoke scare. Yes, the Saudi Airlines, while landing at Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport located at Amausi, faced some glitches when thick smoke emanated near the wheel resulting in a nightmarish experience for the passengers on board.
However, the pilot took caution to land the flight paving the way for the Haj pilgrims to alight from the flight. According to electronic channels, a major mishap was narrowly averted at Lucknow Airport on Sunday morning when a Saudia Airlines flight carrying Hajj pilgrims developed a technical glitch during landing, with sparks and smoke erupting from the aircraft’s wheel as it touched down on the runway, prompting an immediate emergency response.
Sources said that sparks and smoke were seen coming from the aircraft’s wheel as it touched down around 6:30 am. The aircraft, flight SV 3112, had departed from Jeddah at 10:45 pm the previous night with 250 Hajj pilgrims and crew members onboard. The incident occurred while the plane was taxiing on the runway. The pilot promptly brought the aircraft to a halt, and the airport’s fire and rescue team responded immediately, bringing the situation under control within 20 minutes.
Preliminary investigation points to a hydraulic system leak as the cause of the malfunction. Aviation experts noted that the glitch, though minor during landing, could have resulted in a serious accident had it occurred during takeoff. All passengers and crew are safe, and no injuries were reported.
The incident comes just days after the tragic crash of Air India flight AI 171 from London to Ahmedabad, which went down shortly after takeoff, killing all 241 people on board and over 10 on the ground. The back-to-back aviation incidents have heightened concerns over flight safety and aircraft maintenance protocols.
