The Saudis have distinguished themselves before in this town:
Close shave for 368 on Saudi aircraft
K R Sreenivas
CHENNAI, June 2 [1997]: All the 351 passengers and 17 crew members of a Saudia Airlines jumbo jet Boeing 747 aircraft had a miraculous escape when the flight SVA 770 scheduled to land at the Chennai airport at 6.30 am on Monday landed at the nearby Indian Air Force airbase in Tambaram at 6.44 am.
The wide-bodied heavy jumbo jet aircraft which landed on the secondary runway of the Air Force base came to a screeching halt at the edge of the runway barely 100 feet from a few offices on the campus of IAF Tambaram. The aircraft landed with a heavy thud and made a loud noise, scaring all those around. The airmen and others present at the Air Force base station ran for their lives, seeing the aircraft approach towards them at great speed. The flight was on its way to Chennai from Riyadh and Daharan.
The 4,763 feet secondary runway and four tyres of the aircraft were damaged following the landing of the aircraft. However, all the passengers and crew members escaped unhurt. As the pilot applied brakes, the passengers were thrown forward, sources said.
Airport sources said pilot of the aircraft Captain Khayyat sought visual clearance to land at the Chennai airport after sighting the runway. The Air Traffic Control (ATC) gave him permission to land, but the pilot reported that he had overshot the runway. The ATC instructed the pilot to circle and then come back for landing.
The pilot then went on an orbit and landed at the Tambaram Air Force station airstrip, mistaking it for the Chennai Airport. He then contacted the ATC and told them that he had landed, but they wanted to know where he was as they could not see the aircraft at the Chennai Airport. To their shock, the ATC learnt that the pilot had landed at the Tambaram Air Force station. They immediately contacted all agencies concerned and emergency operations commenced.
The Customs, International Airports Division of the Airport Authority of India and Immigration authorities rushed to the site of the incident. The passengers inside the aircraft suffered as the air-conditioning system was off. Passengers complained of suffocation.
Air India, which is the ground handling agent for Saudia Airlines in Chennai, moved the step ladder from the Chennai airport to the Air Force station for passengers to disembark. The Pallavan Transport Corporation (PTC) pressed into service nine buses for their transported to the airport for Customs and Immigration clearance. Sources said the aircraft landed despite refusal of permission to touch down at the IAF airbase. A Directorate-General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) inquiry has been ordered into the incident. Aviation circles wondered why the pilot did not use the automatic Instrument Landing System (ILS), which guides the aircraft approach path for landing and take off. Since the aircraft circled thrice over the Tambaram runway before landing, the investigators are making enquiries to find if there was a motive for the pilot to land at the sensitive Air Force station base.
A highly placed official said the pilot realised his mistake but it was too late to pull off the aircraft. IAD Airport Director Roshan Lal said the passengers were sent to hotels and all assistance was being provided. The formalities were also relaxed, he said.
The National Airports Division (NAD) has sent a preliminary report to its headquarters in Delhi. The IAF has also constituted a separate inquiry into the incident.
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