Mumbai airport big accident averted: Air India, Air India Express planes come face-to-face on runway

At around 10 pm on Tuesday, two aircraft belonging to the same parent group came face to face on the same runway at Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport. An Air India Express plane that had just landed from Siliguri had not yet cleared the runway when a Delhi-bound Air India aircraft was cleared to begin its take-off roll.

The air traffic controller intervened in time, instructing the Air India crew to abort, and a potential disaster was averted.

The Air India flight in question was AI816, operated by a wide-body Boeing 777-300 ER. The Air India Express aircraft that had landed was flight AIX1547, a narrow-body Boeing 737 MAX 8.

In a statement, the airline confirmed the sequence of events. "The crew operating flight AI816 from Mumbai to Delhi on July 7 discontinued the take-off run after receiving an instruction to do so from the Air Traffic Control and returned to the bay," an Air India spokesperson said.

A take-off run refers to the phase when an aircraft is rolling down the runway before reaching the speed required to become airborne. Aborting one at that stage requires immediate action from the crew and is considered a serious safety measure.

The spokesperson added that the aircraft would undergo necessary checks as per standard operating procedures and that alternative arrangements were being made to fly passengers to Delhi at the earliest. The airline did not disclose the number of passengers aboard either aircraft, and specific details of the incident were not made public.

The incident is expected to be investigated by aviation safety authorities.

(With inputs from PTI)