Jeep on runway forces AI plane to lift off early

A person and a jeep on the runway reportedly forced an Air India aircraft on take off roll at Pune to do “early rotation” — meaning lift the nose wheel earlier — to avoid a mishap. This rotation led to the Airbus A321 to have a tail strike but the plane took off safely. The incident happened on Saturday when the A321 (VT-PPU) was operating as AI 852 from Pune to Delhi.