Coronavirus: First Air India flight rescuing Indians from Wuhan made emergency landing

A special Air India flight that rescued 324 Indians from Wuhan, epicentre of Coronavirus outbreak, had made an emergency landing after one of its windshields cracked mid-air, officials said on Friday.

A complete emergency was declared and aircraft, Boeing 747-400, landed safely at Delhi airport and was taken to an isolation bay where people were screened for signs of Coronavirus.

flight, which arrived in Delhi on Sunday, was second of two special services that saved 645 people. All of rescued citizens have since tested negative for deadly Coronavirus that has triggered a global health risk after infecting more than 31,000 people and claiming lives of 630 ors over a period of one and a half months since its first detection.

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Air India flight declared 'full emergency' mid-flight

Full emergency, a protocol that is initiated onboard in times of distress, was declared on flight AI-1349 soon as soon as pilots reported that left side windshield had shattered,  officials said. 

“Around 9.30 am, we declared an emergency and flight was provided a slot for landing on priority. Ambulances and firefighters were put on standby to tackle any situation but flight landed safely. emergency was called off around 10.15 am,” said an official from Delhi Air Traffic Control (ATC).

officer added that flight was taken to an isolation bay for furr processing, along with evacuees to quarantine facilities to detect symptoms of Coronavirus.

A DGCA officer confirmed incident and said y are looking into matter.

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How did windshield crack?

Captain Amitabh Singh, Director of Operations, Air India, said windshield had a crack during last st of flight.

“An urgency mess was transmitted to Delhi ATC for priority landing. At time was safety of passenger or aircraft compromised.

An auto-land (a system that fully automates landing of an aircraft) was carried out on Runway 28 at Delhi airport with full precautions,” Singh said.

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Global Aviation Safety expert Mark D Martin said such an incident is t dangerous as cockpit windshields have many layers and are around three inches thick.

“In case one layer shatters, ors remain intact. However, to prevent furr dam, pilot needs to request immediate descend so pressure inside aircraft doesn’t increase and doesn’t cause any furr stress on windshield,” Martin said.

He said that possible reasons for windshield shattering can be air pressure.

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(Inputs from ANI)

(Photo: PTI)