Ajay Devgn’s directorial ‘Runway 34’ is all set for a theatrical release on 29th April. The film stars Ajay Devgn, Amitabh Bachchan, Rakul Preet Singh and Boman Irani in the leading roles. The trailer of Runway 34 has already intrigued the fans as it showcases the thrilling ride of an aircraft suspended mid-air, more than 35,000 feet above the ground, with 150 passengers on board. Ajay Devgn plays the role of a prodigal pilot who is too confident about his flying skills but a fateful incident changes it all.
What makes Runway 34 more interesting is the fact that it is based on a real-life event and fans are curious to know more about it.
Real-Story that inspired Ajay Devgn’s Runway 34:
The incident occurred on August 18, 2015 when Jet Airways flight 9W 555, a Boeing 737-800, arrived from Doha over Kochi at 5.45 in the morning. There was lack of visibility for the aircraft to land due to the haze that followed heavy rain the previous night. The pilot hovered the aircraft over Kochi for almost an hour. The pilot then decided to do an emergency landing in another city. Ideally, the aircraft should have been diverted to the nearest airport, which was Bengaluru in this case, located 15 minutes away, but he decided to re-route it to Trivandrum, which is about an hour from Kochi. Upon reaching Trivandrum, he witnessed that the visibility required for landing was low there too.
The pilots of the flight declared “May Day”. After doing unprecedented six go-arounds, they managed to land ‘blindly’ only in the seventh attempt. According to the officials, if the pilots had gone for another go-around, the plane would have crashed because there was not enough fuel left.
Fortunately, the aircraft landed without any hitch. But this incident turned out to be one of the most serious safety occurrences.
The upcoming film ‘Runway 34’ is inspired by this event and the makers have taken cinematic liberties and fictionalized certain things. In the film, Ajay Devgn, who plays the pilot, will be seen being put on a trail for his erratic actions. Apart from the thrilling scenes of the cockpit and the difficult landing, it will be interesting to watch the legal drama as well.
The film is releasing in theatres on 29th April.