A Sharjah-bound Air India Flight, which was circling over the city of Trichy in Tamil Nadu for nearly two hours after it encountered a landing gear issue, landed safely at the airport.

The Boeing 737 aircraft, with 141 passengers on board, took off from Trichy Airport at 5:45 pm and circled over Trichy to burn off fuel before making a safe landing at 8:15 pm.

The Ministry of Civil Aviation confirmed that the flight was landed normally.

“The Air India Express Flight IX 613 from Tiruchirapalli to Sharjah has landed safely at Tiruchirapalli airport. DGCA was monitoring the situation. The landing gear was opening. The flight has landed normally. The airport was put on alert mode,” the ministry said.

The ministry further said that the flight was granted permission for a belly landing, but the aircraft successfully landed normally and safely instead. “The pilot remained in constant communication with Air Traffic Control (ATC), which had advised a belly landing, but the plane touched down without any issues. An internal investigation has been launched into the incident, and the aviation regulatory body, DGCA, has been informed,” it said.

Trichy Airport Director Gopalakrishnan said that the Air India flight from Trichy to Sharjah faced a Hydraulic failure. More than 20 Ambulances and fire tenders were placed at the airport to make sure no big accident occurs, he had said.