Air Deccan Flight from Coimbatore has bumpy landing

Bangalore, Mar 11 (UNI) An ATR aircraft of Air Deccan had a bumpy landing on arrival from Coimbatore here today.

A Spokesperson for the low cost airliner told UNI that all 40 passengers and four crew members were safe.

The aircraft which had a bumpy landing came to a halt a few metres away from the runway at the Hindustan Airport here, the spokesperson said.

Flights from Hyderabad to Bangalore were diverted in the wake of reported closure of the Bangalore Airport after the incident.

Sources said a tyre of the Air Deccan's ATR burst, forcing the closure of the Bangalore Airport till 1500 hours today.

Several airlines from Hyderabad had to reschedule the Bangalore bound flights from Hyderabad in the wake of the incident, sources added.

The aircraft, a brand new ATR, had joined the Air Deccan fleet in November last year.

Air Deccan in a release said that the aircraft landed at 1017 hrs in Bangalore. ''On landing, there appeared to be a landing gear problem or a tire burst. The aircraft came to a stop a few yards off the runway. The Captain of the aircraft is a very experienced pilot with over 12000 hours of flying experience. There would be some disruption to the schedule for the flights operating out of the Bangalore airport for all airlines'' due to the mishap.

UNI