New Delhi: In a shocking incident, a New Delhi-bound Vistara flight from Bhubaneswar returned minutes after take-off and made an emergency landing after the aircraft was caught in a hailstorm and suffered damage on Wednesday, an official said. Notably, the 169 passengers and crew on board are safe.
The New Delhi-bound Vistara flight landed back at Biju Patnaik International Airport (BPIA) here barely 10 minutes after taking off, the officials said. The aircraft’s windshield developed a crack due to the hailstorm that lashed several parts of Odisha this afternoon.
“A windshield has been damaged, while no harm was caused to the passengers,” BPIA Director Prasanna Pradhan said.
Meanwhile, the airline said in a statement, “We confirm that Vistara flight UK788 encountered adverse weather soon after take-off, resulting in a crack in its windshield and minor damage to the radome.”
Radome is the ‘nose’ of an aircraft where the airborne weather radar is hidden.
“The aircraft is undergoing necessary checks before resuming operations. In the meantime, an alternate aircraft has been arranged to complete the journey, which will depart shortly,” the statement read. It said the airline is making efforts to minimize inconvenience to passengers by taking measures such as offering refreshments and meals.
Vistara Training Head Relieved of Duties After DGCA Finds Lapses
Vistara Airlines’ head of training, Vikram Mohan Dayal, has been relieved of his duties following actions taken by the DGCA, officials in the civil aviation regulation authority said. This move comes after lapses were found in the zero flight time training (ZFTT) conducted by the airline. Earlier this month, the DGCA issued a show-cause notice to Dayal.
The DGCA had raised concerns about a practice known as Zero Flight Time Training (ZFTT). When a pilot needs to transition to operating a different aircraft type, they typically undergo several stages of training.
News agency ANI has reached out to Vistara for a statement, but they were yet to respond by the time this report was published.
(With inputs from agencies)
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