Air India flight AI-2455 from Thiruvananthapuram to Delhi made an emergency landing at Chennai airport on Sunday, August 10, due to a suspected technical issue. The flight was carrying 160 passengers, including four Members of Parliament (MPs) onboard.
Four MP from Kerala were Congress General Secretary KC Venugopal, UDF Convenor Adoor Prakash, senior Congress leader Kodikunnil Suresh, and K Radhakrishnan, along with Tamil Nadu MP Robert Bruce. Suresh described the horrific incident of the Air India flight. He said flight from Trivandrum airport to Delhi faced radar system problem over one hour after taking off.
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"Yesterday, at 7:45 PM, the Air India flight started from Trivandrum airport to Delhi... After 1 hour and 10 minutes, the pilot announced that there was a communication problem with the radar system," Suresh told to the news agency ANI.
Suresh further narrated that pilot announced that flight had to go back to the Chennai airport due to radar problem, however, he further announced that we are going to land at Chennai airport, but before touching the runway, the flight again took off at a high speed. "Then, the pilot announced that we were going to land at Chennai airport, but before touching the runway, the flight again went up at high speed."
All onboard 60 passengers were panic during the incident. "All the passengers panicked. After 45 minutes of flying over the airport, the pilot announced that we were going to land, and the flight landed safely. 160 passengers landed safely at the Delhi airport around 4:30 AM... Air India and DGCA should inquire into this matter," Congress MP said.
Earlier, another Congress MP KC Venugopal described the experience he faced onboard AI-2455 said, "frighteningly close to tragedy." Taking to the social media platform X Venugopal said, “Air India flight AI 2455 from Trivandrum to Delhi – carrying myself, several MPs, and hundreds of passengers – came frighteningly close to tragedy today."
“What began as a delayed departure turned into a harrowing journey. Shortly after take-off, we were hit by unprecedented turbulence. About an hour later, the Captain announced a flight signal fault and diverted to Chennai," he mentioned.
“For nearly two hours, we circled the airport awaiting clearance to land, until a heart-stopping moment during our first attempt – another aircraft was reportedly on the same runway," he wrote.
“In that split second, the Captain’s quick decision to pull up saved every life on board. The flight landed safely on the second attempt. We were saved by skill and luck. Passenger safety cannot depend on luck," the post further reads.
Meanwhile, the airline, in a statement, said, “The flight crew of AI2455 operating from Thiruvananthapuram to Delhi on 10 August made a precautionary diversion to Chennai due to a suspected technical issue and given the weather conditions en route. The flight landed safely in Chennai, where the aircraft will undergo the necessary checks."