Air India Wins Praises After Pilots Safely Land Aircraft At Heathrow Amid Heavy Storm

The pilots of two Air India flights demonstrated expertise and skill by safely landing their Boeing Dreamliner aircraft into London's Heathrow on Friday afternoon, even as storm Eunice left hundreds of flights delayed, diverted or cancelled.

A video clip of the landing has now gone viral on social media as strong winds from Storm Eunice battered the United Kingdom and thousands of social media users from around the globe keenly followed a live video stream of planes struggling to land at Heathrow.

File Photo

Landing video gone viral

The video was recorded by Jerry Dyers, the founder of Big Jet TV channel for aviation enthusiasts. In the video, Dyers is heard saying, ¡°Just checking to see if he¡¯s gonna land. Winds are gusting..it looks like he¡¯s got it.¡± Once the plane hit the runway, he says, ¡°A very skilled Indian pilot there.¡±

"Very skilled Indian Pilot" ?????

Pilots of this Air India flight managed to land their B787 Dreamliner aircraft with ease into London Heathrow yesterday afternoon in its first attempt even as Storm Eunice left hundreds of flights delayed, cancelled or diverted...
Jai Hind!?? pic.twitter.com/94FrTnTUiy

¡ª BiTANKO BiSWAS (@Bitanko_Biswas) February 19, 2022

Captains Anchit Bhardwaj and Aditya Rao were at the controls. Air India too praised its pilots. "Our skilled pilots landed in London when many other airlines couldn't," said an Air India official.

An Air India official told India Today Television, ¡°BA (British Airways) and QR (Qatar Airways) flights missed approach and did go-around. Our crew landed smoothly as they are well trained.¡±

'Red' warning issued owing to Storm Eunice

The United Kingdom issued a ¡®red¡¯ weather warning as the record-breaking winds of Storm Eunice hit parts of the country, bringing life to a standstill, causing damage to life and property. It was one of the most powerful tempests in Europe since the "Great Storm" hit Britain and northern France in 1987.

Flights, trains and ferries across Western Europe have also been severely disrupted due to Storm Eunice. Storm Eunice, cutting off power to over 140,000 homes in England and 80,000 homes and businesses in Ireland, is responsible for millions presently huddled in their homes, forced to take shelter.

BBC

As several flights stood cancelled or were diverted as they missed their approach to London Heathrow, two Air India flights landed amid gusty winds on their first attempts. The flights were AI147 from Hyderabad and AI145 from Goa.

As per India Today Television, Captain Anchit Bhardwaj was commander of AI147 and Captain Aditya Rao was at the helm on board AI145. The cockpit crew members on both flights included commander Capt Manmath Routray, First Officers Capt Rahul Gupta, Capt Sushant Tare, and trainee commander Capt V Roopa.

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