Fuel, toilet issues force plane to make emergency landing in Kolkata

A Boeing 767 aircraft from Denmark to Thailand, with 292 passengers on board, made emergency landing at the NSC Bose International airport in Kolkata on Thursday, and was grounded at the airport for over 24 hours, as it ran out of fuel and the plane's toilet also had some problem.

Kolkata airport sources said the aircraft, run by Thomson Fly group, took off from Billund and was on way to tourist spot Phuket, when the air crew noticed the problem with washroom taps and door as it was flying over Afghanistan on Thursday morning.

The plane then headed towards Delhi but was not allowed permission due to thick blanket of fog and with fast depleting fuel stock it finally contacted the ATC, Kolkata which then gave the nod for emergency landing at NSC Bose International airport at around 6 am yesterday, with full emergency measures in place, the sources said.

But after refuelling and checking procedure of the plane by aviation officials, the plane could not take off as the FDTL (flight duty time limit) of its pilot had crossed the stipulated hours and the aircraft had to be grounded for over 24 hours for another international pilot to take over, the sources said.

Procedural delays with another round of check-up as the second pilot took over at 6 am today further delayed the departure at around 12:15 pm finally, the sources said.

The landing, ground handling and fuel charges were paid by the airlines and the passengers were accommodated at an airport hotel during this period. The sources said.

Meanwhile, flight operations were delayed at the airport from 5 am to 8 am today due to poor visibility but no incoming or outbound domestic or international flights were cancelled, airport sources said.