IAF transport aircraft makes emergency landing at Begumpet Airport

An Indian Air Force transport aircraft on Friday survived a mid-air scare over Hyderabad with its landing gear reportedly not deploying initially but the pilots finally managed to sort out the issue and landed the plane safely at the Begumpet airport. The IAF’s C-130J Super Hercules transport aircraft made many circles over the airport for around an hour, burning up fuel for a possible hard landing if that situation became inevitable.

Though there was no official word either from the airport authorities or the IAF, some 12 IAF personnel, including several trainee pilots were reportedly in the aircraft during the ordeal that lasted around an hour. The glitch with deployment of the front landing



gear was realised as the aircraft was preparing to land in the afternoon, and the pilots informed the air traffic control and the IAF base station. 

When several attempts to deploy the landing gear failed, instructions were given for the flight to spend fuel and prepare for a hard landing. A hard landing is when a plane lands on its belly without deploying its wheels. After the anxiety ridden hour, the pilots managed to have the front landing gear release into place and land safely. 

Meanwhile, airport authorities rushed fire-fighting and rescue teams and had them on stand by for any eventuality.