AI Plane Flies 4 Hours With Ruptured Belly, Lands Safely

AirIndia Express aircraft hits boundary wall of Tiruchi airport while taking off.

- Jagriti Chandra and S. Ganesan

A Dubai­-bound Air India Express plane, with 136 people on board, was damaged when it hit the boundary wall of the Tiruchi airport while taking off and was airborne for around four hours before it landed safely in Mumbai in the early hours of Friday. The plane had sustained significant damage in its belly, but the pilots continued to fly before being asked to divert to Mumbai. The flight took off from Tiruchi at 1.19 a.m. and landed in Mumbai at 5.35 a.m. The airline said in a statement that all passengers were safe. The undercarriage of the Boeing 737­800 hit the antennae of the Instrument Landing System, a navigational aid, and the wheels hit the boundary wall.

Pilots informed