GUWAHATI, June 11 � Air India Pilot Capt Urmila Yadav, who saved the lives of 52 persons by safely landing an Air India flight without one nose wheel in the Lokapriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport yesterday, said that she was �overwhelmed� by the response that she received from the people after the safe landing of the flight.
Talking to The Assam Tribune today, Capt Yadav said that she was feeling very happy after the safe landing of the aircraft to save the lives of the passengers. �After the safe landing of the flight, I felt that I have done justice to my job as a pilot,� she said.
Capt Yadav said that she received great pleasure from the response that she received from the people. She revealed that all the passengers thanked her and co pilot Capt Yashu after the safe landing of the flight. �Some of the passengers even took photos with us. The Assam Chief Minister also called us to congratulate us on the safe landing of the plane and we are overwhelmed by the response that we received from the people,� she added.
Capt Yadav said that as per her contract with the Air India, she is not authorized to talk about the technical details of the incident. However, she said that such kinds of emergencies are very rare. She said that as a pilot, she had faced emergencies in the past, but not faced a kind of situation that she faced yesterday.
On her experience as a pilot, Capt Yadav said that she has been flying for around 20 years now. She started her career as a pilot by flying aircraft of the corporate and she has flown with prominent personalities and VIPs during the elections. She worked with the Air India from 2006 to 2008 and then joined the Airports Authority of India. She rejoined the Air India last year.
It may be mentioned here that 48 passengers and four crew members of the ATR flight of the Air India from Silchar to Guwahati has a narrow escape as one of the nose wheels of the aircraft fell off immediately after the take off. The passengers, who were informed about the snag, were in a stake of panic and emergency landing facilities were prepared in the LGBI airport to face any eventuality.
However, Capt Yadav and her co pilot Yashu kept their cool under the circumstances and flew the craft for more than two hours to burn the additional fuel to reduce the weight of the craft and managed to land the plane safely without one nose wheel to save the lives of the passengers and crew members.
