Jet Airways flight from Riyadh to Mumbai that aborted takeoff last week at the Riyadh airport was not even on the runway when the incident took place, putting the lives of 150 passengers on board at risk, Saudi officials have revealed.
The Indian Directorate General of Civil Aviation suspended the licences of the two pilots of the Jet Airways flight.
The flight, a Boeing 737 aircraft carrying 141 passengers and seven crew members, attempted taking off on a taxiway that ran parallel to the runway, the Saudi Aviation Investigation Bureau (AIB) has said in a new statement.
Shortly after the Saudi AIB released its fresh findings, the Indian Directorate General of Civil Aviation suspended the licences of the two pilots manning the Jet Airways flight. “DGCA has suspended licences of both the pilots involved in runway excursion incident at Riyadh pending investigation,” the aviation body said in a statement.
Saudi Arabia’s Aviation Investigation Bureau, however, has faulted Jet Airways for the incident. The agency, in a new statement released today, said that initial probe confirmed that the Jet Airways flight had attempted taking off on a taxiway running parallel to the runway.