Jet Airways Veers off Runway at Goa, Over 150 Passengers have Lucky Escape

Nose wheel snag, human error may have led to mishap

A Jet Airways plane with about 150 passengers and seven crew members, bound for Mumbai, veered off the runway at Goa airport on Tuesday.

Fifteen passengers were hurt and three of them are in hospital. The Aircraft Accident Investigation Board is probing and will check the digital flight data recorder, runway surface conditions and the pilots’ work patterns.

According to experts, pilot error or malfunctioning in the nose wheel steering could have been the cause.

It happened when the Boeing 737 aircraft was readying for take off. Another reason could be malfunctioning in the aircraft autothrottle system, which provides a thrust to the engines in flight.

“We maintain insurance and third-party liability cover and to that extent, our losses are covered,” Jet’s acting chief executive officer Amit Aggarwal told shareholders at the company’s annual general body meeting.

The aircraft is more than eight years old and on lease. Jet sent medical, engineering and safety teams to Goa to oversee the passengers’ treatment and assist the airport authorities, as well as the regulatory agencies, in investigation.

According to a senior commander, an incorrect application of take-off go around thrust can lead to runway excursions. 

“If the switch is pressed at an inappropriate time, before stabilising of thrust and proper line up on the runway, the aircraft can achieve take-off thrust and lose directional control,” he said.

"I believe that in light of the Boeing 737NG in the past having issues with nose wheel and main wheel there could also be a possibility of the nose wheel steering or the tiller being unresponsive to pilot input thereby preventing the aircraft from being aligned with the runway heading in time for take-off," said aviation consultant Mark Martin

“A significant factor that emerges with this incident in Goa is that morning winds at Dabolim Airfield tend to gust between 15 Kts (28 km/per Hour) to 30 kts (68 km/per hour) during between 0500 and 0900 which as we know as the “Sea-Breeze-Land-Breeze” phenomena; and as a result, this may have also acted as an external force factor with deviating Boeing 737off its assigned runway heading and eventually off the runway," Martin added.

Reference - http://www.business-standard.com/article/companies/jet-airways-veers-off-runway-at-goa-over-150-passengers-have-lucky-escape-116122700842_1.html