SRINAGAR: After a passenger on a Delhi–Srinagar SpiceJet flight on July 12 alleged that the aircraft experienced a sudden free fall near J&K’s Banihal Pass, SpiceJet issued a clarification on Monday stating that the flight had encountered a brief patch of turbulence due to prevailing monsoon conditions.
Arjimand Talib Hussain, a passenger on SpiceJet flight SG-385, shared a video claiming the aircraft went into a free fall of several hundred metres over Banihal Pass in J&K on July 12.
In the 29-second video, which has gone viral on social media, cries of some passengers travelling in the flight can be heard.
The passengers can be seen holding aircraft seats tightly, while one of the flight attendants can be seen crawling inside the flight, with the captain making announcements that “everyone please fasten your seat belts.”
In the post on X, the passenger Arjimand Hussain said, “All my life, I have travelled in all sorts of weathers, across the globe, in hundreds of flights, but have never experienced something like this.”
“G-385 Delhi-Srinagar SpiceJet flight's precarious moments yesterday. The plane dropped several hundred meters in free fall over the Banihal Pass. It felt like the end of life for everyone. It was not a normal turbulence. I have experienced all sorts of those,” he said.
“I managed to capture only the final few moments of the mayhem, with a crew member having tossed in the cabin. Worst part was all window shields were directed to be closed a few moments back, and no one had any clue what was happening,” Arjimand said.
“Is it new a normal to fly right into storms or something has changed about climate? Why was seat belt warning made once the mayhem was over? Where are early weather warnings and evasive actions? Who would answer (sic),” the passenger questioned.
However, SpiceJet in a statement to The New Indian Express said that the news reports claiming that the flight from Delhi to Srinagar “plunged mid-air” are completely “incorrect, baseless, and strongly denied.”
“The July 12 flight encountered a brief patch of turbulence due to prevailing monsoon weather conditions. At no point did the aircraft ‘plunge,’ nor did any crew member sustain any injury. The flight landed safely in Srinagar,” the airline said.
“The turbulence happened during descent, seat belt sign was on and flight crew had made announcements to fasten the seat belt and remain seated,” SpiceJet stated in the statement.
The incident had taken place nearly a month after a London-bound Air India passenger plane crashed in Ahmedabad, killing 260 people.