Wheels down, Air India flies into mid-air fuel crisis

MUMBAI: Pilots of an Air India flight forgot to retract the aircraft wheel assembly after taking off from Kolkata on Saturday and realised it only half way through the journey to Mumbai when they were forced to land in Nagpur. With the landing gear down, the A320 aircraft guzzled fuel faster and a low fuel situation forced the pilots to divert. Both pilots have been de-rostered by the carrier.
Climbing to 4,000ft after AI 676 took off from Kolkata around 9.30am, the pilots would have gone through a “take off/climb checklist”.Among the actions taken is retracting the landing gear. “For some reason, the pilots forgot to do it. With the wheels down, the drag force increases and the aircraft speeds rather noisily through the air,’’ said a source. Among the consequences would be a poor rate of climb and high fuel consumption.
“The pilots are supposed to check fuel at intervals through the trip, which they might not have done. Also, the A320 couldn’t climb beyond 24,000 feet,’’ the source added.
The fast rate at which the A320 guzzled fuel left the pilots with no option but to divert to Nagpur airport to refuel. Before takeoff, the aircraft is loaded with enough fuel not just to last the journey, but also to circle, taxi and fly to an alternative airport if it’s not possible to land at the destination. But halfway through the almost two hour, 45 minute flight, they were left with not enough fuel to complete the journey safely. “The pilots began to prepare the aircraft for landing and it was only when they decided to put down the landing gear that they realised that it was down all along,’’ the source added.
Air India spokesperson Dhananjay Kumar confirmed the incident. He said both the pilots have been derostered and an investigation is on.