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A Hubli-bound flight, with Congress president Rahul Gandhi onboard, reportedly developed a ‘technical snag’ on Thursday, 26 April, causing panic among passengers and crew alike, with the Congress alleging “intentional tampering” with the aircraft and demanding a probe into its “suspicious and faulty performance.”
Amid the allegations, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), however, said that it was a "snag of autopilot mode," and that it is not uncommon, reported NDTV.
BS Bhullar, head of the DGCA, told NDTV that a detailed report will be out in two weeks.
Kaushal Vidyarthee, one among Gandhi’s entourage, had written a letter to the Inspector General and Director General of Karnataka Police, alleging ‘unexplained technical failures’, while adding that the ‘shuddering and the altitude dipping’ that was experienced during the flight-time were ‘not weather-related’.
According to Vidyarthee's letter, the aircraft tilted heavily mid-flight, and shuddered violently with a clanking noise that was “clearly audible".
The aircraft successfully landed at the airport around 11:25 am only after three attempts, leaving the occupants frightened.
Confirming that a complaint has been received about some unexplained turbulence of the aircraft, Renuka Sukumar, DCP (Law and Order), Hubbali-Dharwad police told PTI:
The complaint that names the two pilots was filed by KPCC General Secretary Shakir Sanadi, she said.
Meanwhile, a senior DGCA official responded to the incident, saying:
Citing the report from the Air Traffic Controller, a senior official at the Hubbali airport said the plane had landed safely, PTI reported.
Notably, Gandhi is on a two-day visit to poll-bound Karnataka to campaign for the party candidates in the districts of Uttara Kannada, Dahskina Kannada, Kodagu and Mysuru.
Congress’ communications in-charge Randeep Surjewala also commented on the incident, saying:
He added that a complaint has been sumbitted to the DGP, Karnataka, asking him to look into all aspects of the "serious, horrific incident", including foul play if any.
He reportedly said it was unprecedented that a flight carrying an SPG protectee would develop a snag.
Another complaint has been filed with the DGCA to look at all the aspects of the matter, Surjewala added.
(With inputs from PTI and ANI)
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Published: 26 Apr 2018,10:51 PM IST