the goan I network
VASCO
Flight operations at Dabolim Airport were suspended for about 3 hours on Saturday, after a detachable fuel tank of a Naval MiG-29K fighter aircraft fell off and burst into flames on the runway.
While there were no reports of casualty due to the mishap, the incident led to the delay of several civilian flights and some other flights were diverted to other destinations, during the temporary suspension of operations at Dabolim airport.
Sources said a detachable fuel tank, attached to the MiG-29K aircraft while on a routine sortie, fell on the runway and burst into flames.
“A portion of the main runway of the airport caught fire after a drop tank of a MiG-29K aircraft fell down while the jet was taking off. This led to minor damages to the landing and take-off strip.”
“These drop (detachable) tanks are external fuel tanks outfitted to aircraft in order to enable them to cover more distance. One such tank attached to a MiG-29K jettisoned during a sortie and landed on the runway,” said a naval source.
An eyewitness speaking on condition of anonymity said the incident occurred at around 12.30 am and though the reason for the fuel tank to suddenly get detached was unclear, the flames sent a huge cloud of dark smoke, which was visible from afar.
Sources said the incident had caused some minor damage to the runway.
The mishap prompted naval authorities and Airports Authority of India (AAI) officials to immediately suspend flight operations
Fire tenders from the navy and airport rushed to the site to douse the fire and later, naval authorities also began repair works on the runway.
An India Navy spokesperson posted a message on twitter: “#GoaAirport closed temporarily for a few hours view incident of fire caused by a drop tank of MiG 29K which got detached whilst taking off. All efforts in hand to resume flights ASAP. MiG 29K fighter ac is safe.”
The mishap led to the suspension of flights and several flights scheduled to arrive at Goa were diverted to other airports like Mumbai and Bangalore, only to return after the flight operations resumed at Dabolim airport.
“There were six flights present at the airport and ready for departure when the incident occurred and they were stopped for security and safety reasons. Navy personnel
were present at the site and helped clean the fuel from the runway. They also carried out repair work along the affected stretch of runway,” said the source.
Sources said after naval authorities carried out repairs at around 3 pm, the six flights stationed at the airport were permitted to fly out of the airport, but landing permissions were not granted till naval authorities gave their final nod at around 3.45 pm.
Later in a twitter message, the Goa Airport then stated that “all operations resumed normal at Goa airport at 3 45 PM.”
By Saturday evening, all diverted flights began arriving at Dabolim Airport and flight operations returned to normalcy.
