A woman pilot averted an air tragedy on Sunday by her deft handling of a Guwahati-bound aircraft after it lost one of its nosewheels during takeoff from the Kumbhirgram airport in Silchar.
The ATR aircraft had 48 passengers. Its five-member crew comprised three women, including the pilot.
Captain Urmila Yadav, circled the Air India flight AI-9760 over the Lokapriya Gopinath Bardoloi International (LGBI) airport here for about one hour before she made a skilful emergency landing.
Earlier she asked the crew to shift some goods from the cockpit to the rear to reduce the load on the front, to facilitate safe landing.
The passengers thanked the pilot for saving their lives.