An IndiGo flight experienced a tail strike while the aircraft was landing at the Ranchi airport, officials said on Saturday.
The incident took place on Friday around 7.30 pm when the Bhubaneswar-Ranchi flight was making its final approach to the runway with nearly 70 passengers on board, they added.
Passenger status
Airport and airline officials said the plane landed safely and there were no immediate reports of injuries to passengers or crew. Further details on the cause of the incident are awaited.
“The tail of the aircraft touched the runway while landing. The passengers experienced a sudden jolt. However, all were safe and unhurt,” Ranchi airport director Vinod Kumar told PTI.
Aircraft unfit for takeoff
The plane was grounded following the incident after checks found it technically unfit for takeoff, he said.
“His next flight from Ranchi to Bhubaneswar was cancelled. Some passengers canceled their journey while some rescheduled their journey. Some passengers were sent to Bhubaneswar by road,” he added.
In 2023, India’s aviation regulator fined Indigo for deficiencies in documentation and operating procedures following a special audit. The audit was carried out following a series of tail incidents involving the carrier’s A321 aircraft.
Indigo planes experienced as many as four tail incidents in the first six months of 2023, Reuters previously reported.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) imposed a fine of 3 million rupees ($36,475) for deficiencies in the carrier’s documentation and operational training procedures, engineering and flight data monitoring, the ministry said, according to Reuters.
Indigo Chaos
The incident comes amid a nationwide surge in flight delays and cancellations due to operational restrictions that have left thousands of passengers stranded.
IndiGo, the country’s largest carrier, has been facing a crisis, apparently due to crew shortages, which have caused widespread delays and cancellations, prompting an investigation by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).
As of Friday, December 12, the airline said it had operated more than 1,950 flights with only four cancellations due to bad weather. IndiGo added that all affected customers have been informed in advance to avoid any inconvenience and that connectivity across all its 138 operating destinations remains intact.
IndiGo on Thursday reported an on-time performance of 84.5% from six metro airports – Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Bengaluru and Hyderabad, according to the civil aviation ministry’s website.
