Free At Last, Free At Last...

It took more than 200 men and a railway an entire night, but they did it. They moved an Air Sahara Boeing 737 stuck in the soft dirt from the end of a runway at Mumbai, India's international airport. And just in time, too.

As Aero-News reported Thursday, the 737 overshot the runway on landing Sunday and sat at the end of the runway for days as everyone from airport and airline workers to India's transport minister tried to figure a way to dig it out.

Finally, Central Railway sent an engine and several cars, wooden planks and iron rods to shore up the soft earth.

"Efforts to strengthen the ground succeeded only after the runway was virtually extended and a 'pucca' track was created to roll back the plane," one airport official told the Indo-Asian News Service. "We did not have strong enough planks, so Central Railway was asked to give sleepers, which were used as planks to tow the plane."

It worked.

In the meantime, traffic at Mumbai was reduced to a crawl and passengers became frustrated at the delays. Hundreds of passengers waiting in the terminal decided to confront the transport minister over the delays -- but he reportedly slipped out a back door when he heard there was a mob headed his way.

The two Air Sahara pilots accused of botching the landing in the first place were reportedly being questioned by India's Directorate of Civil Aviation.

FMI: www.mumbaiairport.com