Air ambulance incident on Thursday, 6 May, 2021.
EMERGENCY LANDING AT MUMBAI AIRPORT ON A FOAMY RUNWAY
On
6 May, 2021 a Beechcraft VT- JIL air ambulance made an emergency
landing after one of its wheel fell off soon after the take-off. The
plane had to land on Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport.
The operation went on for three hours.
The name of the flight is ATR 9760.
A
Jet Serve Ambulance with a patient onboard lost a wheel during takeoff
from Nagpur. Showing immense presence of mind Caption Kesari Singh belly
landed the aircraft on foam carpeting in Mumbai. All onboard are safe.
The Beechcraft aircraft landed safely at 9.09 p.m. on its belly
IS IT EFFECTIVE?
The
International Civil Aviation Organization says that efficacy of runway
foaming is not fully substantiated. In 1987, the Union States Federal
Aviation Administration withdrew its 1966 recommendation on a foamy path
for emergency landings. Data from a United States study of emergency
landings made with, and without, the application of foam showed no
significant reduction in the risk of fire.
THE INCIDENT
The
flight hade taken off from Bagdogra in Bengal, and stopped at Nagpur
for refueling on the way to Mumbai. But as the plane took off from
Nagpur, its wheel fell off. The Air Traffic Controller raised a distress
call to the pilot. And a decision was made for the plane by the pilot
to make a belly landing at Mumbai airport.
All passengers were evacuated safely and flights operating in and out of the Mumbai airport remain on schedule.
Foam
carpet is created on the runway by spreading foam using fire
extinguishers so that the plane does not catch fire during an emergency
landing.
DETAILS
There were five passengers, including a patient, onboard the aircraft.
Mumbai airport said the aircraft made an emergency landing at 9.09 pm on the same day.
All passengers were evacuated safely, flights operating in and out of CSMIA remain on schedule.
The
airport's emergency response team including the fire and rescue
responders, follow-me vehicles, CISF, medical team amongst many others
was activated instantly and on standby to provide immediate assistance
to ensure the safe evacuation of the passengers.
WHAT IS A BELLY LANDING?
A
belly landing or a gear-up landing occurs when an aircraft lands
without its landing gear fully extended and uses its underside, or
belly, as its primary landing device. As an added precaution, airport
authorities had also sprayed foam on the runway of Mumbai airport.
WHY THERE WAS A FOAMY RUNWAY?
A
foamy path is an aviation safety practice of spreading a layer of fire
suppression foam on an airport runway to prepare for an emergency
landing. In the event of a crash landing, liquids leaking from the
aircraft start evaporating, resulting in an air vapour mixture that is
inflammable or even highly explosive. The foam carpet is expected to
check the evaporation.
Commendable
effort by DGCA (Directorate General of Civil Aviation), CSMIA
(Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai) and other
agencies.
There was one patient, two crew
members, and a medical team comprising a doctor and a paramedic on-board
the aircraft. All escaped unhurt.
The patient has been admitted to a hospital in Mumbai for the time being.
WHAT HAPPENED BEFORE EMERGENCY LANDING ON MUMBAI AIRPORT?
The
pilots of the flight, Urmila Yadav and Yashu had to keep circling the
aircraft over the airport of Mumbai for two and more hours to burn off
the fuel while preparations were made to facilitate a safe emergency
landing of the plane. The fire brigade and ambulance are already present
at the Mumbai airport as the flight from Nagpur is expected to land
soon.
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