Aircraft faces mid-air glitch after take-off from Tiruchirappalli, lands safely

Chennai: A Sharjah bound flight from Tiruchirappalli, shortly after departure on Friday evening, witnessed mid-air technical glitch and later landed safely, police said.

Chief Minister M K Stalin held an emergency meeting with officials and directed them to follow all safety measures.

Later, he congratulated the flight captain and crew for the safe landing.

After taking off at about 5.30 pm from the airport, the fault related to hydraulic systems, the landing gear, was noticed. Deftly handling the situation, the pilots later safely landed the aircraft in Tiruchirappalli airport.

The chief minister in a post on 'X' said: "I am heartened to hear that the #AirIndiaExpress flight has landed safely. Upon receiving news of the landing gear issue, I immediately co-ordinated an emergency meeting with officials over the phone and instructed them to implement all necessary safety measures, including deploying fire engines, ambulances, and medical assistance.

"I have also now directed the District Collector to ensure the continued safety of all the passengers and to provide further assistance. My compliments to the Captain and crew for the safe landing."

Earlier, as part of protocol, fire tenders, rescue personnel and ambulances had been rushed to the airport. Aviation regulator DGCA was monitoring the situation.