India | Posted on Jul 26, 2008 at 02:15pm IST

Close shave for Pawar as plane crew forgets to shut door

Press Trust Of India

New Delhi: A major air accident was averted when a Jet Airways flight with Union Minister Sharad Pawar on board returned to Delhi airport safely after it was found that a rear door was not locked properly.

Taking a serious note of last evening's incident, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) ordered suspension of at least two cabin crew members of the Delhi-Mumbai flight (9 W362), which was carrying 122 passengers and the crew members, official sources said.

The private carrier immediately carried out the orders, suspending the two crewmembers, a Jet Airways spokesperson said.

When the Boeing-737 reached a height of about 5,000 metres after taking off at 1725 hours, the cabin crew on the rear of the plane informed the pilot that they could hear "a hissing sound and see the sky through one corner of the door".

The Commander of the plane immediately reported emergency to the Delhi air traffic control, which asked them to burn fuel in the air in order to make a safe landing.

The aircraft then climbed to about 8,000 metres and circled above to burn fuel before making a safe landing an hour after take off.

The DGCA preliminary inquiry showed that the cabin crew had not shut the door properly "before reporting door closed" to the pilot, sources said.

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