Hyderabad, March 29: Karnataka Minister for Tourism Gali Janardhana Reddy and Health Minister B. Sriramulu had a miraculous escape when one of the tyres of their chartered flight burst while landing at Rajiv Gandhi International Airport here on Monday morning.
Air operations were disrupted for sometime. The chartered flight, Hawker-400XP, was on its way from Vidyanagar airport near Bellary in Karnataka to Delhi with the two Ministers, two crew members, and another person. The private plane was landing in Hyderabad for refuelling at 11 a.m.
Airport sources said the pilot alerted the control tower about the tyre burst and ordered the passengers to disembark immediately, even as fire tenders raced to the tarmac. The Ministers and the crew were picked up by a vehicle from the tarmac. Later, the aircraft was also towed to a distance enabling authorities to resume air operations. Officials said it could be either tyre burst or tyre de-capping, which means the outer layer of the tyre got ripped off.
Sources said the Ministers resumed their journey to Delhi in a commercial flight. Mr. Reddy is to receive an award instituted by the Centre, which Karnataka bagged for its tourism promotional activities.
–Agencies