the goan I network
VASCO
According to sources at Dabolim airport, the technical team were seen attending to the damaged aircraft and three cranes were also deployed to lift the grounded plane, in a bid to shift it to a hangar, for further inspection and repairs.
“It was a very lucky escape for all passengers and the crew, as both aircraft engines scraped the ground as the plane came to a halt away from the runway. Had the engines struck a rocky surface, they could have burst into flames,” said the source.
A technical person from the airport believed that pilot error was likely the most plausible explanation for the incident, that led the plane to change its course and veer off the runway, before landing outside the service road inside the INS Hansa gate meant for naval personnel.
When contacted, Airport Director B C H Negi refused to comment in the matter and instead, said the questions should be directed at officials of Jet Airways.
Jet Airways Airport Manager Raj Shate also declined to speak to The Goan, stating that further details would be available with his corporate office.
Fifteen passengers were injured while 149 passengers and seven crew had a lucky escape, when the Jet Airways flight 9W 2374 from Goa-Mumbai veered off the runway and struck the ground while aligning for take off at Dabolim airport in the wee hours of Tuesday morning.
The incident took place at the Runway 26 at about 5 am as the Jet Airways flight 9W 2374, which had arrived from Dubai, was carrying 164 passengers and seven crew to Mumbai, en route to
Abu Dhabi.
