Air India plane skids off runway after tyre burst

Kanpur, Jul 20: An Air India plane, carrying 54 passengers, today (Jul 20) skidded off the runway after a tyre burst but no one was injured in the incident, airline sources said.

A tyre of the Canadair Regional Jet CRJ-700, operating with the call sign AI-9801, burst as soon as it touched down the IAF-controlled Chakeri airport here and skidded off the runway with the front wheels screeching to a stop in the muddy areas, the sources said here.

"Landed in Kanpur on AI. Emergency landing as plane skidded off runway into wet mud. Lucky save. Evacuations on now. Thank u god", noted author Chetan Bhagat, who was travelling on the flight, tweeted immediately after the rough landing.

Some time later, Bhagat tweeted again: "The plane wheels are barely visible, dug deep into mud. Everyone's out now. Rattled but safe. Thanks all for ur concern." The airline sources said no one was injured in the incident and added that the runway, operated by the air force, had a low width.

The aircraft was soon pulled back to the terminal building. While 52 of the 54 passengers were travelling to Kanpur, the rest of them were sent to Lucknow for their onward journey, the sources said.

The flight, launched about a month ago, operates from Delhi to Kolkata via Kanpur.

PTI