Go Air passengers recall midair brush with death

GRATEFUL TO BE ALIVE: Most passengers said that they were happy to be safe despite the perilous moments in air

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Rajdeep Sardesai

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New Delhi: The passengers on the domestic carrier Go Air flight no 456 on the Mumbai-Delhi circuit had a nightmarish time when they were informed that the flight that they were on was in trouble.

Thursday, October 9 unfolded a world of fright for the 117 passengers on the domestic carrier. Mid air, the crew discovered that they had a flat on on of their landing wheel-tyres.

The passengers described the ordeal of the flight after the captain had declared it an emergency and issued relevant instructions for the emergency landing at Delhi airport.

“Only my great spiritual guru and God saved us,” said a lady passenger and heaved a sigh relief.

“We were asked to shift our seats to the twelfth row onwards. After that we tried landing and that is when they realised that it was our wheel. We took off again while they made all the emergency preparations here. We landed back in an hour's time,” told another.

Worried relatives of the passengers paced about the waiting lounge.

“The moment I got a mobile call and she (his wife) started crying. She said that they had made a belly landing or something like that. There were fire brigade personnel and apparatus around. Lots of cops were there," said a relative who was at the airport to receive his life.

For many passengers, it was a miracle to come out unscathed and land safely.

“This is like a second life you know. I have two kids in Mumbai right now, eleven and even years old. I was really wondering if I will see them ever again or not,” said a happy passenger. She was not the only one.

Now the Go Air officials say that they will investigate what had caused the near disaster.

On July 26, a major air accident was averted at Delhi airport when a Jet Airways flight with Union Minister Sharad Pawar on board returned to Delhi airport safely after it was found that a rear door was not locked properly.