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| Go Air flight diverted to Delhi, passengers denied B/L facility | | Rana's family among 150 who had miraculous escape at Jammu Airport | | Early Times Report
SRINAGAR, July 3: Over a hundred passengers on board G8-154 had a narrow escape when a Go Air plane failed to land at Jammu Airport due to sudden high velocity winds and the flight was dramatically diverted to New Delhi. Family of Political Advisor to Chief Minister, Devinder Singh Rana and former Minister Garu Ram, were among over 150 passengers and crew who had a miraculous escape even as the pilot, with amazing application of wits and mind, regained control of the airplane and later landed smoothly at Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi.
Informed aviation sources revealed to Early Times that Srinagar-Jammu-Delhi flight of Go Air took off at Srinagar Airport on the scheduled time of 1345 hours. When 40 minutes later, it was nearly negotiating the runway for landing at Jammu Airport, captain of the flight was suddenly advised by ATC against the landing. Officials maintained that it were "extremely high velocity winds" that prompted ATC to advise the captain against the landing. Sources, however, insisted that the alert was radioed to the pilot just 30 seconds before touching the runway. "It was an unusual alert but, thank god, we're all safe", said a crew member.
Sources said that it was the good luck of the passengers and the crew on board that the pilot succeeded in retaining control and he took the plane successfully back into the high space. For the next 40 minutes VOR at the ATC failed to track the plane and nobody on board understood what exactly had happened. It was at 1500 hours that the captain announced that the flight was being diverted to New Delhi for "bad weather conditions" on Jammu Airport. The plane landed smoothly at IGI Airport in New Delhi at 1530 hours.
Those on board, who had a miraculous escape, included wife and two daughters of the J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah's Political Advisor, Devinder Singh Rana, Congress leader and former Minister of State Choudhary Garu Ram and a number of government officials, businessmen, students and Amarnath pilgrims returning to their home states.
Jammu-bound passengers of the diverted flight complained to Early Times that Go Air authorities at IGI Airport arranged their tickets on different flights from New Delhi to Jammu for July 4th and 5th but told them straightaway that they could not arrange any boarding or lodging facilities for them in Delhi. Some of the girl students, who had left Srinagar for Jammu to reach their tuition centres, complained that they had little money in hand to arrange accommodation for themselves in New Delhi. "We have been left to fend for ourselves. Go Air officials told us curtly that it was none of their liability to arrange boarding and lodging for passengers of the diverted flight", said a female student passenger.
Srinagar Airport Manager of Go Air, Aamir Meraj, said that the flight had been diverted to Delhi "due to bad weather at Jammu". He told this newspaper that he would look into the complaints and see why the Go Air authorities in Delhi had not arranged boarding and lodging for the Jammu-bound passengers.
Director Airport (Srinagar) of Airports Authority of India, Captain Raj K Malik, told Early Times that he was not aware of any diversion of flights to Delhi. He said that a Srinagar-Delhi Air India flight remained grounded for over three hours due to a technical snag. It was rectified and the plane took off for Delhi with over three hours delay at 1750 hours. However, Mr Malik later called back and confirmed that G8-154 had been diverted to Delhi as it could not land at Jammu "due to acute bad weather conditions".
Even as the Go Air officials maintained that the diversion was the result of the bad weather conditions at Jammu airport, Capt Malik said that only one flight, G8- 154, had been diverted. Sources said that an inquiry was underway to find why ATC had not alerted the captain well in advance of losing the height. |
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