New Delhi

An aircraft operated by Air India, carrying 181 passengers, suffered a tail strike while landing at Bengaluru airport on Thursday morning, following which the plane was grounded for detailed inspection.

The airline’s narrow-body Airbus A321 was operating flight AI2651 from Delhi to Bengaluru.

An Air India spokesperson confirmed that the aircraft “experienced a tail-strike during landing”.

The aircraft landed safely and all passengers and crew members disembarked normally, the spokesperson said.

According to a source, the plane encountered “wake turbulence” while approaching the runway, prompting the pilot to execute a go-around manoeuvre. During the manoeuvre, the aircraft’s tail struck the runway surface.

The source said the wake turbulence was caused by the take-off of a wide-body aircraft operating nearby. However, details of that aircraft were not immediately available.

There were 181 passengers onboard the flight, the source added.

The airline said the aircraft has been grounded for a detailed technical inspection and the incident would be investigated in line with established procedures and in coordination with relevant aviation authorities.

“As a result, the return flight AI2652 from Bengaluru to Delhi has been cancelled. Alternative arrangements are being made to accommodate affected passengers at the earliest,” the spokesperson said.

Air India also said its ground teams in Bengaluru were assisting affected passengers and regretted the inconvenience caused.

Data from flight tracking platform Flightrader24 showed that the service was operated using an Airbus A321 aircraft.

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According to the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), wake turbulence occurs due to the formation of two counter-rotating vortices behind an aircraft as it generates lift. These vortices can affect nearby aircraft depending on their strength, duration and direction.