A major accident was averted at the Mumbai airport Monday when a helicopter of Indian President Pratibha Patil landed on the runway just as a passenger jet was about to take off, media reports said.
An Indian Airlines aircraft bound for New Delhi with 148 passengers aboard aborted the take-off after the pilot spotted the chopper on the runway, the NDTV network reported.
The plane had already run for a kilometre and gained momentum when the pilot noticed that the helicopter was dangerously close and applied emergency brakes, the IANS news agency reported.
The helicopter that missed the runway collision was part of Patil's entourage but the Indian leader was not on board, an official statement said. Patil is currently on a visit to the region, dpa reported.
Mumbai's Air Traffic Control had given clearance to the flight and the helicopter at the same time and the domestic aviation authorities have ordered an inquiry into the incident, the reports said.
"The tyre of the aircraft got damaged in the incident and the aircraft was then taken to a bay. Passengers have been flown to the national capital by another aircraft," an Indian Airlines spokesman told the IANS.