NEW DELHI: The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Thursday asked IndiGo Airlines to submit a report on the hailstorm incident involving the Delhi-Srinagar flight 6E 2142 on Wednesday evening. The 227 passengers on board had a narrow escape after the flight encountered the hailstorm midway.
When asked if any probe has been ordered into the incident, the Director of DGCA, Faiz Ahmed, told TNIE, “We have asked IndiGo to submit a report on the incident. A decision on ordering an inquiry will be taken after finding out what the airline has to say about it.”
According to a report by PTI citing sources, the pilot had initially sought Lahore Air Traffic Control's permission to briefly use the Pakistan airspace to avoid the turbulence, but the request was rejected.
When the aircraft was overflying Amritsar, the pilot noticed turbulence and sought Lahore Air Traffic Control's (ATC) permission to take a deviation through the Pakistan airspace on Wednesday.
The request was made in order to avoid the turbulence, but it was rejected by the Lahore ATC, the sources told PTI.
As a result, the aircraft operated on the original flight path, where it encountered severe turbulence, they added.
In the wake of tensions between India and Pakistan following the Pahalgam terror attack that killed at least 26 people, Pakistan airspace is closed for Indian carriers. India has also shut its airspace for Pakistan airlines.
The incident had traumatised the passengers, many of whom felt they would not survive the nightmare that they endured with the flight moving up and down and lightning all around them.
Former pilots and aviation safety experts refused to accept that the pilots did something remarkable in saving the lives of the passengers in an emergency. The common view was that there was no need to have got entangled in such a situation first.
Captain C S Randhawa, President of the Federation of Indian Pilots, told this reporter, “The weather in an approaching area is picked up very much in advance by two weather radars which are superimposed on the navigation display. There is a red area which is displayed to caution the cockpit crew. It can never happen that both radars fail simultaneously. This gives the pilot a chance to divert the flight well in advance in order to avoid something in the route by connecting with the ATC and taking their guidance too.” The pilot can opt for a diversion at 80 miles or even 60 miles before the spot where there is an issue, he added.
In the case of the Delhi to Srinagar route, these were pre-monsoon conditions and steps should have been taken to avert the hailstorm completely, he added.
Aviation safety consultant and former pilot, Captain Mohan Ranganathan, posted an explanation on X with photographs detailing the precautions that must be taken by pilots in case of such adverse weather conditions. Sharing details about a training CD he had readied for DGCA and all airlines, he stated that all airlines must mandatorily carry out an ALAR (Approach and Landing Reduction) training for all pilots. “Never fly in the clear area below the anvil of a mature CB (Cumulonimbus cloud). There is a very strong likelihood of hail damage to aircraft especially during pre-monsoon and post-monsoon thunderstorms,” he said.
Regarding Wednesday’s incident, the safety consultant added, “I find the windshield, wing leading edges or engine cowling show no damage. The damage only to the nose cone does not point to a severe hailstorm.”
Asked for its response to the views expressed by aviation experts, an IndiGo spokesperson said, “We do not want to comment on speculations.”
In a fresh statement released on Thursday, the airline said that all customers were attended to upon landing and no injuries were reported. “The aircraft is currently undergoing necessary inspection and maintenance in Srinagar and will resume operations once all clearances have been secured,” it said.
(With inputs from PTI)