Mumbai: An air ambulance made an emergency landing at the Mumbai airport on Thursday evening after one of its wheels separated and fell on the ground during takeoff from Nagpur with five people, including one patient, on board.
The crew and patient escaped unhurt. The crew of the Jet Serve Aviation C-90 aircraft VT-JIL confirmed the pilot did a belly landing with no landing gear taken out. Foam was put on the runway to prevent fire.
“As a precautionary method, CSMIA (Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport) also foamed runway 27 in order to avoid the aircraft catching fire. All passengers were evacuated safely and flights operating in and out of CSMIA remain on schedule: Mumbai Airport,” ANI quoted officials at the Mumbai Airport as saying. News Agency ANI posted visuals from the site on its Twitter handle.
Union Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri lauded the aircraft’s captain for “showing the immense presence of mind” and confirmed that all on board are safe.
“A Jet Serve Ambulance with a patient onboard lost a wheel during takeoff from Nagpur. Showing immense presence of mind Capt Kesari Singh belly landed the aircraft on foam carpeting in Mumbai. All onboard are safe. Commendable effort by @DGCAIndia @CSMIA_Official & other agencies,” he tweeted.
Meanwhile, full emergency has been declared for a non-scheduled Nagpur to Hyderabad flight in the wake of the incident.