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Chennai-bound Indigo flight dips near airport runway, lands after second attempt

The passengers onboard a Bengaluru-Chennai IndiGo flight were restless for a few minutes when the aircraft opted for a go-around after flying as low as 500 feet above the ground near the Chennai airport’s runway. In aviation, a go-around refers to an aborted landing of an aircraft on its final approach to the runway.

According to reports, the incident took place on Saturday afternoon on a scheduled flight from Bengaluru to Chennai. The aircraft reportedly flew very low over the Guindy-end of the main runway before climbing up for a go-around. A passenger, who was on the flight, told the Times of India that the pilot announced that they would land in 10 minutes and did not specify the cause for the delay. 

The passenger also mentioned how the flight was close to the ground and that it was not exactly parallel to the runway, where it was supposed to land. The aircraft reportedly flew back off the coast, over the sea, and finally touched down on the main runway in the Chennai airport.

In a go-around process, after an aborted landing, the pilot would circle around and line-up for a second landing. It can be initiated by the pilot or the Air Traffic Control (ATC) for various reasons. Airlines, generally, investigate such incidents based on reports filed by the pilots. Indigo airline has, meanwhile, said it was investigating the incident.

In May, a Singapore-bound flight of Scoot Airways made an emergency landing in Chennai airport after the pilot detected smoke in the aircraft. The flight, originating from Trichy, with 161 passengers and crew on-board, landed at Chennai airport in the wee hours, after smoke emanated from the aircraft’s cargo hold.

Similarly, in April, a private aircraft to Ahmedabad made an emergency landing at Chennai airport due to a technical problem. The aircraft had 179 passengers and five crew members on board and took off around 7 am. However, as the pilot noticed a technical snag in the aircraft, which subsequently caused one of its engines to fail, he alerted the ATC team in Chennai, who cleared the plane for landing. None of the passengers was injured.

Source: The News Minute