An Air India Express Boeing 737 has been grounded in Muscat, Oman, for more than nine days after the pilots reportedly attempted to take off with the aircraft lined up with the right-hand edge lights of the runway.
The incident occurred on May 15 but is now only coming to light after the trusted accident reporting site, Aviation Herald, received confirmation about the accident from regulators in Oman.
According to the Aviation Herald, the pilots of the 18-year-old Boeing 737-800 were preparing for departure for the three-hour flight from Muscat to Kannur when they were given permission to take off from Runway 26L at around 9:30 pm.
Rather than lining up in the center of the runway, the pilots somehow managed to align the aircraft with the right-hand edge lights, which, as the name suggests, demarks the very edge of the runway.
As the plane started to accelerate along the runway for takeoff, it collided with several of the runway edge lights, destroying them in the process.
The pilots heard a loud bang before the ‘Master Caution’ alarm sounded in the cockpit, prompting them to reject the takeoff and come to a stop on the runway. At this point, the cockpit systems showed warnings of a hydraulic leak and a flat tire.
The aircraft was stranded on the runway, unable to move under its own power, due to the hydraulic leak and flat tire, but it apparently took two hours for passengers to be deplaned via mobile airstairs onto the runway before being bused back to the terminal building.
In a statement to the Aviation Herald, Oman’s accident investigation body explained: “Prior to taking off from Runway 26L the flight crew entered to line up from E7 taxiway for takeoff at the right shoulder of the runway and following the right edge runway lights.”
“They went through over many lights that had been damaged. The crew rejected the takeoff after hearing a big bang and the master caution electric light in the cockpit. After that a complete hydraulic leak from system A with flat tire.”
The statement added: “The crew and passenger disembarked the aircraft safely in the runway.”
Air India Express simply reported that there had been a problem with one of the tires.
The incident happened a few days before an Airbus A321 operated by Air India suffered a tail strike incident as it was coming into land at Bengaluru on May 21.
The ex-Vistara aircraft was operating as flight AI-2651 from Delhi when the pilots attempted to land at Bengaluru International Airport. On their first attempt to land, the tail of the aircraft scraped along the runway, prompting a discontinued approach and a ‘go around.’
The aircraft then circled and landed without further incident on the second attempt. The plane remains grounded in Bengaluru.
Tail strikes can cause serious damage, although the extent of the repairs required is yet to be determined. In January 2024, an Air France Airbus A350 suffered a serious tailstrike incident as it was landing at Toronto Pearson Airport and was grounded for months for extensive repairs to be carried out.
