LUCKNOW: Smoke was detected from the wheels set of an Airbus A300-343 aircraft of Saudia after it touched down at Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport Lucknow from Jeddah on humid Sunday morning.
As the flight carrying 289 passengers, mostly Haj pilgrims, and 12 crew members headed toward the terminal for taxi, a ground handling crew noticed wisps of smoke curling from the left-side wheels. “Smoke! Left wheels!” a handler shouted. The tarmac buzzed with urgency.
The Airport Rescue and Firefighting (ARFF) team sprang into action, red lights flashing as they swarmed the aircraft, still taxiing toward the gate. With Saudia’s crew, they doused the smoke, averting a catastrophe
The Airport Rescue and Firefighting (ARFF) team sprang into action, red lights flashing as they swarmed the aircraft, still taxiing toward the gate. They coordinated with the Saudia crew and quickly doused the smoke before it could escalate into something worse.
Meanwhile, panic rippled through the cabin as passengers glimpsed the commotion outside. “Stay calm,” Captain announced, voice steady despite the chaos outside.
Technical assessment identified a hydraulic fluid leak in the landing gear system, a common issue affecting older aircraft amidst increased global focus on airline maintenance standards.
The Airbus A330-343E with registration HZ-AQB, operated by Saudia, has a serial number (MSN) of 1127. Based on available data in the public domain, this aircraft was delivered to Saudia in June 2010. As of Monday (June 16, 2025), this makes the aircraft approximately 15 years old.
“The aircraft has been grounded and is expected to take off for Jeddah by Tuesday morning due to thorough inspections by engineers and technicians,” said another source.
Arvind Chauhan is an experienced journalist with a demonstrated h...
Read MoreArvind Chauhan is an experienced journalist with a demonstrated history of working in the newspapers industry as well as for the social media wing as digital content creator. He has covered subjects like railways, aviation, defence, energy, health, real estate, minority affairs, women and child development, crime, customs, telecom, district court, district administration, roads and infrastructure, armed forces tribunal, and regional politics across Uttar Pradesh. He began his career in Lucknow, and has done reporting in West Uttar Pradesh. He has won the Times Scribe Award four times including for busting fake news, and extensive coverage on Covid orphans. He graduated with a journalism degree from Times School of Journalism and BA (Honors) in English from Lucknow University.
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