Ashiq Hussain
SRINAGAR, July 13: Over 179 fliers of a Delhi bound Indigo flight faced some tense moments on Friday when the airplane developed “suspected technical snag” immediately after takeoff.
The pilot had to make an emergency landing a few minutes after take-off from Srinagar International Airport.
“The plane developed some technical snag. Later it took off smoothly,” said Airport Officer, OP Bhuwaniwala. Security officials at the airport said that the plane’s computer warned of technical glitches in mid-air, five minutes after it flew from the airport.
“The pilot informed the ground staff about the suspected technical problems and requested for emergency landing,” said Superintendent of Police for airport security, Abdul Rashid.
“The safety standards, nowadays, are very strict and the pilot had to bring the flight back,” said the officer.
“A local engineer addressed the fault and flight took-off again within minutes,” Rashid informed.
Attempts to contact Indigo airline officials failed.
This is third incident of its kind that an indigo plane landed under emergency conditions in the state this year.
On June 28, a Mumbai-bound Indigo flight with 180 passengers on board had to land under emergency conditions at Srinagar Airport after a bird hit.
Earlier on June 13, over 130 passengers had a providential escape when the crew of an indigo aircraft from Delhi detected plumes of smoke in one of its engine. The pilots maneuvered to land the aircraft with much difficulty at Jammu airport.
(The author is correspondent, The Hindustan Times)
