IndiGo flight with 'nose damage' from Delhi storm was denied entry into Pakistan airspace, DGCA clarifies
Pakistan turned down a request from a Srinagar-bound IndiGo flight, which was battered by severe turbulence on Wednesday evening, to enter its airspace, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has confirmed. The regulator has initiated a detailed investigation into the incident.
The Airbus A321 Neo aircraft – carrying more than 220 people, including Trinamool Congress MPs – was cruising at 36,000 feet when it encountered extreme weather conditions. According to the DGCA, the crew had requested a deviation from their flight path due to an approaching storm, but this was denied by Northern Control, operated by the Indian Air Force. A subsequent attempt to enter Pakistani airspace by contacting Lahore ATC was also refused.
Faced with rapidly deteriorating weather conditions and limited alternatives, the crew initially considered turning back but ultimately decided to fly through the storm to minimise exposure time.
'The aircraft experienced updraughts and downdraughts that caused the autopilot to disengage, leading to significant speed fluctuations,' the DGCA stated. 'Warnings for exceeding the maximum operating speed and repeated stall alerts were also triggered. At one point, the aircraft's rate of descent peaked at 8,500 feet per minute.'
The pilots were forced to take manual control until the aircraft exited the turbulent zone. A PAN PAN emergency call was made to Srinagar ATC, after which the aircraft received radar vectors and landed safely. The auto-thrust system resumed normal operation prior to touchdown.
Following the safe landing, a post-flight inspection revealed damage to the aircraft's nose radome, likely caused by hail impact.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hindustan Times
2 days ago
- Hindustan Times
Delhi govt hopeful of cloud-seeding trials by month-end
New Delhi The Delhi government is hopeful of conducting a pilot cloud-seeding trial by the month-end, environment minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa said on Wednesday, pointing out that barring a few technical clearances from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), the Delhi government has received approval for the project. The ministry of defence has allowed the government to fly a plane for the project from the Hindon Air Base in Ghaziabad. Sirsa said that once the final clearance is in place, the government will seek a six-hour plan from the India Meteorological Department (IMD), which will analyse moisture content in the air, geographical spread of clouds and their density in the Capital. 'The good news is that the permissions we needed from the agencies and central government departments have all been received, barring a few technical clearances from the DGCA, which should be in by next week,' Sirsa said. 'We have already spoken to IMD and they will share with us a deep analysis of the atmospheric conditions. These six-hour plans will basically tell us when to fly the plane and in which areas we have suitable moisture and conditions to do cloud-seeding,' Sirsa said. Cloud-seeding is a weather modification technique, wherein silver iodide (AgI) is released into the atmosphere to aid the formation of ice crystals and improve the ability of the cloud to create rain. 'A team from IIT Kanpur met us on Tuesday night. The team will remain in Delhi and once we get the data from IMD, we can practically hold the first trial within 24 hours,' Sirsa said. The government said the trial will take place only in the outer parts of Delhi. 'The flights will avoid restricted airspace such as VIP-89 (Rashtrapati Bhawan, Parliament, PM residence), as per standard aviation protocol,' an official said. When put to the minister that the southwest monsoon, which generally hits the Capital on June 27, was progressing at a faster-than-usual pace, Sirsa said it would not impact their plans. 'We will not hold a trial on the day it is already raining, but on a day when there is sufficient moisture but less chance of natural rain,' Sirsa said. On Wednesday, Delhi's air quality index (AQI) was 81 (satisfactory), its lowest since it was 76 (satisfactory) on September 29, 2024. Sirsa said testing the impact on Delhi's air quality was not the primary aim of this trial. 'We already know rain positively impacts air quality. The goal of this trial instead will be to determine whether or not this will work, how much area it can influence and how much rain is possible,' he said. Sirsa said that according to IIT Kanpur, Nimbostratus (Ns) clouds were most suitable for seeding experiments, and these are usually at heights between 500 and 6,000 metres. 'The clouds also need to have 50% or higher moisture content.,' he said, adding IIT Kanpur custom seeding mixture, in addition to silver iodide, also contains powdered rock salt, iodized salt and a free-flowing agent that combines hygroscopic and glaciogenic cloud-seeding capabilities. 'The seeding mixture requirement will vary according to moisture content.' On May 8, Sirsa announced that the government sanctioned a project outlay of ₹3.21 crore, with five trials to cost ₹55 lakh each. The remaining ₹66 lakh would cover aircraft calibration, chemical storage, logistics, and other preparatory arrangements. 'The pilot will be conducted with five flights and in a coverage area of 100 sq km. The trial will be done in northwest or outer districts of Delhi,' Sirsa had said in May. To be sure, the state government needs clearances for trials from the Special Protection Group (SPG), the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), the Union ministries of environment, defence and home, the Uttar Pradesh state government, IMD, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), the Airports Authority of India (AAI) and the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS). Manindra Agarwal from IIT Kanpur said that while Delhi's air was fairly clean at present, the trial will allow them to assess the impact of silver iodide. 'A concern being raised by people was how silver iodide will impact the environment. As per our assessment, the impact is negligible. However, this run will provide us with fresh data for the same. We will collect water samples after it rains to assess the concentration of silver iodide,' he said.
Hindustan Times
3 days ago
- Hindustan Times
IndiGo flight from Delhi to Srinagar diverted to Chandigarh due to bad weather
IndiGo flight 6E 2248, operating from Delhi to Srinagar, was diverted to Chandigarh on Tuesday after being denied landing clearance at Srinagar Airport due to adverse weather conditions. According to airline officials, the Airbus A320, carrying approximately 120 passengers, landed safely at Chandigarh International Airport in the evening after it was unable to land in Srinagar. 'The flight was diverted owing to bad weather in Srinagar. After landing in Chandigarh, the aircraft remained grounded for nearly an hour for refuelling,' said an IndiGo spokesperson. Following the refuelling halt, the aircraft was at Chandigarh airport waiting for weather conditions so that it could land at its destination.
Time of India
3 days ago
- Time of India
Delhi-Srinagar flight diverted to Chandigarh
Chandigarh: An Indigo flight from Delhi to Srinagar was diverted to Chandigarh on Tuesday evening after being denied landing at Srinagar airport due to adverse weather conditions. The flight continued its journey to Srinagar after a wait of over 2 hours in Chandigarh. According to Indigo officials, flight 6E 2248, an Airbus A320 carrying around 120 passengers, departed from Delhi at 2:50 pm and was scheduled to land in Srinagar at 4:11 pm. However, due to inclement weather over Srinagar, the flight was unable to land and was placed in a holding pattern for nearly 25 minutes before air traffic control redirected it to Chandigarh, the nearest suitable airport. The aircraft landed at Chandigarh International Airport at approximately 7:35 pm and remained grounded for 2:45 hours for refuelling and weather clearance. Following this, the flight departed for Srinagar at 10:20 pm. Indigo officials confirmed that all passengers were safe and that they were kept informed throughout the delay. "The diversion was necessitated purely due to weather-related safety concerns," the airline said in a statement. MSID:: 121913907 413 |
