December 14 2010: The left tyre of a Jet Airways aircraft started deflating soon after the plane landed at the Chandigarh airport today resulting in a close call for the sixty-five persons on board. This number includes the plane’s five crew members.
HS Toor, Director at Chandigarh airport, said that the tyre of the aircraft did not start deflating until after the plane had landed. Toor added that the incident was a common one that pilots and air personnel are prepared to handle. He said that sometimes a tyre’s safety valve can automatically start leaking after overheating due to proximity to high temperatures from the engine.
Giving exact details, Toor said that 60 passengers and five crew members from Jet Airways flight 9W 2649 from Delhi to Chandigarh landed around 10.40 am. At that time, the plane was immediately stopped so that passengers could disembark. All passengers arrived from the plane without injury. Toor made sure to note that there was no breach of safety.
According to the airport director, the pilot of the Jet Airways flight did not experience any noticeable problems as he took the airplane to the parking bay. It was only upon safe arrival in the parking bay that the tyre got fully deflated. He said that the deflated tyre was being replaced by airport technical staff.
Tyre deflation seems to be taking place far too often at Indian airports. However, according to aviation experts, the incidence is still rare. They pointed out that Chandigarh airport, handles around 11 landings and take-offs every day. Keeping this in mind, the number of flights experiencing tyre deflation is actually quite low in comparison to total flights.
One passenger, who arrived in Chandigarh via bus from Ludhiana in order to take the same Jet Airways plane to Delhi, missed an international flight due to time required to repair the tyre. He had taken a morning bus to start a very long journey, which is now longer now that he will miss his international flight from Delhi.