The Air India pilot who landed his plane at Mumbai airport without permission from air traffic control (ATC) on April 12 could have caused a huge disaster, documents available with Mumbai Mirror reveal.
In his flight safety report, Captain R S Otaal writes that he continued his approach even though the runway wasn't empty and he did not have instructions to land. In both these situations, pilots are supposed to go around (circle) and await landing instructions from ATC.
In his report, available with Mumbai Mirror, Captain Otaal, who was operating Air India flight 944 from Abu Dhabi to Mumbai, categorically states that he continued the approach despite receiving no instructions.
“During the final approach but we could not establish clear two-way communication. Loss-of-communication procedure was followed and we continued our approach.
“At 800 feet, two follow-me jeeps were sighted on runway and by 500 feet both had vacated it. As no red flag or other signal to discontinue was given and the runway was clear, we continued our approach, landed and vacated by N7 (taxiway) as normal,” reads Otaal’s flight safety report. Pilots are supposed to file a flight safety report within 24 hours of any accident or major incident.
Talking to Mirror, Captain Mohan Ranganathan, a member of the government-appointment safety advisory body CASAC, said, “As a standard procedure the pilot should have conducted a go-around when no communication was established with ATC and he identified vehicles on the runway. The fact that he didn’t adopt laiddown procedures and then made such false statements is worrying.”
ATC sources revealed that an Indigo Airlines aircraft was first in queue to land and AI 944 was behind. However, while the Indigo flight decided to go around (circle before landing), AI 944 continued its risky approach.
“The pilot is blatantly lying. If the aircraft which was ahead of his conducted a go-around, he should have done the same. Bringing up issues such as ‘no red flag shown’ or ‘no instructions given’ is nothing but a tactic to divert attention from his mistake,” an ATC official told this newspaper.
Sources also revealed that the aircraft was carrying a full fuel load, which made the pilot's decision even more dangerous. R K Khanna, deputy director general, DGCA (western region) maintained that both pilots have been derostered and a detailed investigation is in progress. “We are investigating all aspects of the incident and expecting a report soon,” said Khanna.
Who is Capt Otaal?
Captain R S Otaal, a check pilot (very senior) whjo conducts proficiency tests and route checks of other pilots, had his first brush with controversy after he conducted a hard landing at Rajkot airport in 2010.
His check pilot profile, which was withdrawn with immediate then, was returned to him just a few months ago. Both pilots of the flight from Abu Dhabi have been derostered by the DGCA pending an inquiry. Otaal is also the regional secretary of Air India's largest pilot union, ICPA.
AI pilot admits he had no instructions to land, News - City - Mumbai Mirror