An air ambulance operated by Jetserv Aviation made a belly landing at Mumbai airport after it had lost a wheel during take-off from Nagpur airport. The aircraft going to Hyderabad from Nagpur made an emergency landing at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai today evening.
The air ambulance of Jetserv Aviation operating a Beechcraft King C-90 aircraft VT-JIL had lost its front wheel while departure from Runway 32 of Nagpur Airport. The wheel got separated from the aircraft and fell on the ground. The aircraft was then diverted to Mumbai and it circled over the airport while the personnel at the airport prepared the ground for a belly landing, by readying a foam carpet on runway 27.
In this procedure, fire suppression foam is sprayed on the runway to prepare a foam layer, on which an aircraft can land on its belly. In case of belly landing, the landing gears of an aircraft are not deployed, and the aircraft lands on its belly. Therefore, the foam layer helps to prevent fire on impact, as the metal body directly hitting the runway creates sparks.
The air ambulance was carrying 5 people including 2 crew members, 1 doctor, 1 patient, and 1 paramedic onboard, all of whom were evacuated safely after the plane landed. Ahead of the landing of the aircraft, a full emergency declared at the Mumbai airport for the non-scheduled flight. The runway 27 of the Mumbai Airport was foamed before the aircraft landed.
The aircraft landed at 9:09 PM on Thursday, Mumbai Airport authorities confirmed. The airport’s emergency response team including the fire and rescue responders, follow-me vehicles, CISF, medical team and others were activated instantly and they were on standby to provide immediate assistance to ensure the safe evacuation of the passengers.
Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri praised pilot Kesari Singh for showing presence of mind and landing the aircraft safely. He also appreciated the efforts of DCGA, Mumbai Airport and others involved in the operation.
