Jet Airways aircraft wing hits truck at Delhi airport, another makes emergency landing in Lucknow

Two airline scares involving Jet Airways were reported on Sunday as a Delhi-bound flight turned back to make an emergency landing in Lucknow, while the wing of a carrier clipped a catering van at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in the national capital.

Seventy-one passengers and crew members of the Delhi-bound flight had a midair scare when the pilot detected that the landing gear of the aircraft was not functioning properly, according to an aviation official.

The flight, which took off at 6.26am from the Amausi airport in Lucknow, returned to the Uttar Pradesh capital amid a “full emergency”. The pilot decided not to take any risk “as the landing gear failure could have worsened by the time the flight reached Delhi,” the official added.

“All precautions of emergency landing were taken when the pilot called,” Lucknow airport director AK Sharma said.

At the Delhi airport, a jet carrying 133 people hit the catering van when it was taxiing towards the parking bay at a slow speed after arriving from Dubai. All passengers were safely deplaned after the incident. The wings of the aircraft carry its fuel and a high-speed impact can lead to a fire.

“Around 7.40pm on Sunday, a Jet airways flight 9W-545, which had arrived from Dubai, was moving towards parking bay - 20R. Near the bay, a catering can of Taj SATS was already parked. When aircraft was taking right turn to park, the wing on the right side hit the catering vehicle,” said an airport official on the condition of anonymity.

An investigation has been ordered into the incident by the airport operator. A Jet Airways spokesperson was not immediately available for a comment.