Panic in air as IndiGo flight to Srinagar caught in turbulence; plane loses nose

A Srinagar-bound IndiGo flight from Delhi, with more than 200 passengers on board, experienced strong turbulence as it navigated through an unexpected hailstorm that damaged a small portion of the aircraft's nose on Wednesday (May 21).

Flight 6E 2142 encountered heavy shaking and vibrations due to the terrible weather. The Airbus A321 (VT-IMD) had taken off from Delhi at 5 pm.

All passengers safe

In a viral video from inside the flight, passengers and children can be heard screaming and crying in distress as the aircraft shakes violently after getting caught in the storm. The lightning flashes could be seen through the videos taken by the passengers.

According to officials, the turbulent weather mid air prompted the pilot to report an "emergency" to the Air Traffic Control in Srinagar.

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The flight, with 227 passengers, later landed safely at 6.30 pm. In a statement, the airline said: “IndiGo flight 6E 2142 operating from Delhi to Srinagar encountered sudden hailstorm en route. The flight and cabin crew followed established protocol and the aircraft landed safely in Srinagar."

"The airport team attended to the customers after arrival of aircraft prioritizing their wellbeing and comfort. The aircraft will be released post necessary inspection and maintenance," it added.

The airline did not specify any damage but a viral image on social media showed that a portion of the aircraft's nose was broken due to the impact of the turbulence.

"Near-death experience"

The flight was also carrying a five-member delegation of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) comprising Derek O'Brien, Nadimul Haque, Sagarika Ghose, Manas Bhunia, and Mamata Thakur, who were travelling to Jammu and Kashmir to express solidarity with the people affected by the recent cross-border attacks.

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"It was a near death experience. I thought my life was over. People were screaming, praying and panicking," Ghose said.

She said the delegation had thanked the pilot for landing the plane safely, saying, "Hats off to the pilot who brought us through that. When we landed we saw the nose of the plane had blown up."

The TMC delegation will be in Jammu and Kashmir till May 23 and visit Poonch and Rajouri, besides Srinagar.

Massive weather swings in Delhi

Delhi-NCR region has had a turbulent weather change in the past 24 hours. The capital experienced sweltering heat on Wednesday (May 21) morning, with the heat index, also called the 'feels like' temperature soared to 50.2 degrees Celsius due to intense sunshine.

But a hailstorm accompanied by heavy rain with wind speed of 79 kmph lashed the region in the evening, causing tree felling, waterlogging and traffic jams in several areas. According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), Safdarjung recorded 12.2 mm of rainfall in the three hours between 5.30pm and 8.30pm.

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Flight operations were hit at the Delhi airport, while Metro passengers on the Yellow Line were stranded for hours. Airlines issued advisories, saying the change in weather might impact flight operations.

Gusty winds also swept over neighbouring Noida, leaving several windows shattered and hoardings damaged.

Cyclone over Haryana

The IMD said that the reason for these adverse weather conditions was a cyclonic circulation forming over Haryana and its neighbouring areas, embedded in an east-west trough extending from Punjab to Bangladesh in the lower tropospheric levels.

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The maximum temperature on Wednesday touched 40.7 degrees Celsius, 0.5 degrees above normal, while humidity levels oscillated between 64 and 34 per cent, further aggravating the citizens living there.