Air India Pilots Cancel Take-Off, Hit Brakes When Plane Was At 155 Km/Hr On Runway In Delhi

An Air India flight from Delhi to Kolkata aborted a take-off while the aircraft was accelerating down the runway due to a technical issue detected just in time. The pilots applied brakes to stop the aircraft, which was travelling at 155 km per hour.

Flight AI2403 was scheduled to take off at 5:30 pm today for Kolkata, but a technical issue was detected and the pilots, "following a Standard Operating Procedure", decided not to go ahead with the take-off. The airline in a statement said, "Flight AI2403 operating from Delhi to Kolkata on 21 July 2025 has been rescheduled to depart later this evening, necessitated by a technical issue detected during the take-off roll. The cockpit crew decided to discontinue the take-off, following Standard Operating Procedures."

"All passengers have disembarked, and our ground colleagues in Delhi are extending support to them. Inconvenience caused to the passengers due to this unforeseen disruption is sincerely regretted. At Air India, the safety and wellbeing of our passengers remain top priority," they added.

This is the second incident involving an Air India aircraft today. In Mumbai, a flight flying in from Kochi had a close shave at the airport while landing after it veered off the rain-soaked runway.

Pictures accessed by NDTV show a clump of grass stuck to the rear part of the aircraft and signs of damage on one of the engines. The runway, too, has been damaged. All passengers aboard the aircraft are safe, airport authorities have said.

Government sources said that the plane, after landing, made a runway excursion to one side of the runway. "Marking of one wheel of aircraft went into the grassy area on the side of the runway," a source said. Three signage boards and four runway edge lights were found broken after the incident.

According to Air India, the aircraft has been grounded for checks, and the inspection is underway. The two pilots have been derostered pending an inquiry into what led to the scare.

Notices To Air India

Civil Aviation ministry informed Rajya Sabha today in response to a series of queries from MPs that nine show cause notices have been issued to Air India in connection with five identified safety violations in the last six months.

Minister of State for Civil Aviation Murlidhar Mohol said over the last six months, no adverse trend was reported in reliability reports of Air India in terms of crashes. But over the last six months, nine show cause notices have been issued to Air India in connection with five identified safety violations.

"Enforcement action has been completed in respect of one violation," the minister said in response to queries from CPM member John Brittas, but did not reveal specific details.

Last month, an Air India flight from Ahmedabad to London crashed just after taking off, killing 260 people, including 241 passengers. Only 1 passenger on seat 11A survived. The aircraft crashed into a building adjacent to the hospital.

Post the AI171 crash, one of the deadliest in recent history, has prompted more scrutiny and exhaustive checks in the aircraft.