India’s aviation regulator has suspended two Alliance Air pilots involved in a runway excursion incident on March 12th. The ATR 72 aircraft overshot the runway while landing in Jabalpur on a flight from New Delhi. The DGCA had initiated an investigation and found that the pilots should have performed a go-around to avoid the accident.

The incident

On March 12th, an ATR 72-600 aircraft operated by regional carrier Alliance Air overshot the runway after landing at Jabalpur Airport in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. Flight 9I 691 was a scheduled service between Delhi and Jabalpur, with the entire duration remaining incident-free until the last moment during landing.

Upon reaching Jabalpur, the plane overshot the 6,500 ft. long runway number 24 by approximately 32 ft. All passengers were safely evacuated according to the procedure, and, thankfully, no injuries were reported.

Registered as VT-AIW, the aircraft was approximately 6.5 years old and, unlike most other Alliance Air AT72s, stands out with an Air India livery.

The verdict

The DGCA quickly launched an investigation and de-rostered the pilots with immediate effect. After almost two months, it has decided to suspend both pilots for a year for failing to initiate a go-around to prevent the incident.

The agency found that the aircraft floated for a long period, far beyond the aiming point and that the decision to continue to land was what caused the incident. The Indian Express quotes a senior DGCA official as saying,

“During the investigation, it was found that at the time of landing, the aircraft floated for a long period and touched down approximately 900 metres after the aiming point. The decision of the ‘pilot flying’ to continue despite the long float resulted in a long landing and subsequently runway excursion. The non-flying pilot did not call out for go-around.”

“The above action/inaction of the crew has jeopardised the safety of the aircraft and its occupants and is in violation of the Aircraft Rules 1937 and Civil Aviation Requirement. The privileges of the licences held by both the operating crew have been suspended for a period of one year.”

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About Alliance Air

Alliance Air is a former regional subsidiary of the now Tata-owned Air India. When AI was put up for sale, the Government of India did not include Alliance Air in the deal. As such, it now functions as an independent brand under the control of the Indian government. On April 15th, it officially became an independent carrier and no longer requires Air India’s network for bookings, customer service, or anything else.

Operating a fleet of 18 ATR 72 airplanes and 1 Dornier 228 aircraft, Alliance Air plays a vital role in the government’s UDAN scheme of promoting regional aviation to Tier-2 and -3 cities in India.

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Source: The Indian Express