DGCA suspends two Jet Airways pilots for Riyadh incident

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has suspended two Jet Airways pilots for attempting to take off an aircraft from a taxiway in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, a report said.

The incident occurred on August 3 when Flight 9W-523, bound for Mumbai, aborted take-off and departed the runway at the King Khalid International Airport in the Saudi Arabian capital, a report in Economic Times said.

All 142 passengers and seven crew members were evacuated safely and no casualties were reported.

Earlier today, the Saudi Aviation Investigation Bureau said the aircraft aborted taking off on a taxiway that ran parallel to the runway, a report in Saudi Press Agency confirmed.

"The plane was accelerating with full takeoff power along the ground passage, exceeding the taxiway onto an unpaved zone, stopping near the exit of G4 ground passage," the Bureau said.

The Saudi Aviation Investigation Bureau, along with the Indian Aviation Incidents Investigations Bureau, is probing into the incident, it added.