Major accident involving SpiceJet flight averted at Goa airport

A major accident was prevented involving the SpiceJet flight SG 3568 from Surat to Goa, at Goa's Dabolim International Airport, the Indian Navy informed on Tuesday. Just before the aircraft was about to land at the airport, an official noticed that it's front landing gear was not deployed. 

"The SpiceJet flight was on final approach for landing at Goa international airport when the runway controller Ramesh Tigga noticed that the nose landing gear was not deployed," the Indian Navy said in a statement.

The runway controller immediately cautioned the ATC tower where the air traffic controller, Lt. Cdr. Harmeet Kaur took charge and directed the incoming aircraft to cancel the landing and make a second attempt after a ''go-around'' (an aborted landing of an aircraft that is on final approach).

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The second attempt also proved unsuccessful, and on the third attempt, the front landing gear was partially deployed. The aircraft managed to land safely with the help of emergency services. 

"The flight landed safely under assistance of emergency and safety services to recover the aircraft," the statement said.

The alert action of Naval Air Traffic and Safety Services averted the SpiceJet flight and all its passengers from a major accident at the Goa airfield. Goa's only airport at Dabolim functions through the  Indian Navy base INS Hansa and is used for military and civilian traffic.

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SpiceJet Aircraft Grounded

SpiceJet on Friday said it has grounded three Boeing 737 freighter planes. The move follows advice from Israeli Aerospace Industries (IAI), which had converted these planes into freighters, according to a regulatory filing.

"During an internal examination of IAI's manufacturing facilities, a potential defect was discovered in the process used to manufacture the 9G rigid barrier installed on these aircraft. "These aircraft will return to operations after regulatory clearance," the filing said. 

SpiceJet has four freighters that operate on domestic as well as international routes. The budget carrier has a fleet of 118 planes, including the freighters. In afternoon trade, shares of SpiceJet rose over 1% to Rs 103.85 apiece on the BSE.

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(With inputs from Agencies)