Air-India Express Flight's Tail Part Hits Runway While Taking Off, Makes Emergency Landing

As reported by PTI, a full emergency was declared at the Thiruvananthapuram International Airport on Friday after a Dammam-bound flight from Calicut was diverted to the state capital due to suspected hydraulic failure. The fight landed at the airport at 12.15 PM, according to airport sources. The sources further said the tail part of the Air-India Express IX 385, carrying 182 passengers, hit the runway during take-off from the Calicut International Airport in the morning of Friday, February 24, 2023.

The flight landed at the airport after dumping fuel over the Arabian Sea to facilitate safe landing, the sources told.

The Thiruvananthapuram International Airport is a hub for international flights to the Gulf Countries and Air India Express is one of the biggest operators of International Flights on South India- Middle East routes, connecting countries like Dubai, UAE, Oman among others.

On January 23, an Air India Express flight from Thiruvananthapuram to Muscat, Oman returned shortly after take-off due to a technical glitch in its on-board computer system. The flight, IX 549, which took off from the state capital of Kerala at 8.30 AM returned to the international airport here at 9.17 AM after one of the pilots noticed the technical glitch.