TWO pilots of Indian airline Jet Airways have been grounded, pending inquiry, after they landed a plane carrying over 140 passengers on the sixth or seventh attempt and with very little fuel to spare.

    Aviation sources said the grounding did not presuppose guilt. But suggestions that the pilots have been suspended have triggered a debate on whether they are heroes or villains.

    The controversy has also prompted some to air suspicions — unsubstantiated so far — whether some airlines try to cut corners by flying with fuel tanks that are not as full as they ought to be. Jet Airways has said its fuel uplift meets all regulatory requirements and flight planning includes “additional buffers to cater to unexpected scenarios.”

    The Jet flight was flying from Doha, the capital of Qatar, to Kochi, the commercial capital of Kerala, India, around 5:40 a.m. Aug. 18.

    The pilots made three attempts to land in the airport on the outskirts of Kochi but could not do so because of weather-related poor visibility. The plane then headed to the state capital Thiruvananthapuram, a journey that takes around 20 minutes by air, made three more attempts and landed on the sixth, according to one passenger. Some sources said the landing took place on the seventh run.

    By the time the Boeing landed, the fuel had gone into “reserve,” according to sources. They said the plane had 270 kg of fuel left at the time of landing against a mandatory requirement of 1,500 kg.

    Reports also emerged that the pilot was asked to divert the plane to Bangalore but he headed to Thiruvananthapuram. But aviation sources discounted the claims, pointing out that the state capital was 20 minutes by air while Bangalore was 75 minutes away and the final call fell on the pilots.

    It is not clear whether the plane had adequate fuel and it was burned up during the six or seven unscheduled attempts.

    But Basil George, a former aeronautical chart editor at Lufthansa Systems, said in a Facebook post that regulations required the plane to have trip fuel plus 5 percent of trip fuel as contingency fuel plus holding fuel for 30 minutes plus diversion fuel to another destination.

    (SD-Agencies)