Indigo Passengers Experience Sudden Jolt As Ranchi-Bound Flight Suffers Tail Strike While Landing

(MENAFN- Live Mint) An IndiGo flight experienced a tail strike while the aircraft was landing at the Ranchi airport, officials said on Saturday.

The incident occurred at around 7.30 pm on Friday when the Bhubaneswar-Ranchi flight was making its final approach to the runway with nearly 70 passengers on board, they added.

Status of the passengers

The Airport and airline officials said the aircraft landed safely and there were no immediate reports of injuries among passengers or crew. Further details on the cause of the incident are awaited.

“The tail of the aircraft touched the runway during landing. Passengers experienced a sudden jolt. However, they were all safe and unharmed,” Ranchi airport Director Vinod Kumar told PTI.

Aircraft ineligible for takeoff

The plane was grounded following the incident after checks found it to be technically ineligible for takeoff, he said.

“Its next departure from Ranchi to Bhubaneswar was cancelled. Some passengers cancelled their journey, while some rescheduled their travel. Some passengers were sent to Bhubaneswar by road,” he added.

In 2023, India's aviation regulator fined Indigo for deficiencies in documentation and operational practices following a special audit. The audit was conducted after a series of tail strike incidents involving the carrier's A321 aircraft.

Also Read | IndiGo passenger compensation to be ₹500+ cr, refunds in focus - Latest updates

Indigo aircrafts have experienced as many as four tail strike incidents in the first six months of 2023, Reuters reported earlier.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had levied a penalty of 3 million rupees ($36,475) for deficiencies in the carrier's documentation and procedures of operations training, engineering and flight data monitoring, the ministry was quoted as saying by Reuters.

Indigo Chaos

This incident comes amid a nationwide surge in flight delays and cancellations due to operational constraints, which left thousands of passengers stranded.

IndiGo, the country's largest carrier, faced the crisis, apparently due to a crew shortage, which triggered widespread delays and cancellations, prompting a probe by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA ).

Also Read | IndiGo slapped with nearly ₹59 crore penalty linked to GST

On Friday, 12 December, the airline said it operated over 1,950 flights with just four cancellations, which were attributed to unfavourable weather. IndiGo added that all affected customers were informed in advance to avoid inconvenience, and that connectivity across all of its 138 operational destinations remains intact.

IndiGo on Thursday reported an on-time performance of 84.5% from six metro airports - Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Bengaluru and Hyderabad, according to the Ministry of Civil Aviation website.

MENAFN13122025007365015876ID1110475634