'Real heroes, Rifadly Fahmi and Maitryee Shrikrishna'; Trichy district collector extolls Air India pilots

TIRUCHIRAPPALLI: Officials and the public glued to news channels with bated breath on Friday night after the Air India flight IX613 from Trichy to Sharjah faced landing issues and had to fly across the sky for nearly two hours. According to reports, it took some time for the pilots to gauge the exact issue and then coordinate the same with the airport authority and air traffic control to complete the safe landing.

And now Trichy district collector Pradeep Kumar in his response to news agency ANI lauded the heroics of the two pilots Iqrom Rifadly Fahmi Zainal and Co-pilot Maitryee Shrikrishna Shitole, for their valiant effort that saved 150 lives.

Just after taking off, the flight encountered certain issues and the pilots took some time to discern the cause as hydraulic failure. The oil had drained out of the hydraulic system that handled the undercarriage. The flight was full of fuel and a sudden landing would be tricky. So the pilots after contacting the airport traffic control and others within the airport authority decided to fly into the skies to burn out the fuel and make a safer landing. The aircraft stayed at a height of 4000 feet for nearly two hours.

The big snag was averted due to the coordinated efforts between the pilots and the airport traffic control. The flight after burning a considerable amount of fuel safely landed back in Trichy at 8.15 pm. The passengers were relieved and another flight was arranged for their travel. In the midst of the exuberance and relief, the news camera caught the two pilots moving out of the airport in pure nonchalance. They even denied responding to the media but moved straight to their next work.