Pak Denies Help, Plane Dives 8,500 Ft/Minute: Inside IndiGo's Mid-Air Ordeal

NDTV

23-05-2025

New Delhi:
A domestic flight from Delhi to Srinagar went through a chaotic situation on Wednesday, after the IndiGo aircraft encountered a violent hailstorm and severe turbulence, triggering multiple warnings, an 8,500-feet-per-minute descent, and a denied request for emergency passage through Pakistani airspace.
According to an initial report from the civil aviation watchdog Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), the flight, IndiGo A321neo aircraft operating as Flight 6E-2142, carrying more than 220 passengers, including members of Parliament, was cruising at 36,000 feet when it ran into unanticipated adverse weather near Pathankot, close to the India-Pakistan border.
Request To Deviate Denied
According to the crew's post-flight statement submitted to the DGCA, the flight team identified significant bad weather ahead and made an urgent request to the Indian Air Force's Northern Control for a deviation towards the left, which would have taken the aircraft briefly into Pakistani airspace. That request was denied.
Subsequently, the flight crew contacted Lahore Air Traffic Control directly, seeking clearance to enter Pakistani airspace for a short period to avoid the storm system. This request too was declined.
With limited options and a fast-approaching thunderstorm, the pilots initially considered a return to Delhi. However, by then, the aircraft was already too close to the approaching clouds. Weighing the proximity and potential hazards, the crew decided to penetrate the weather head-on to proceed toward Srinagar.
Inside The Storm
Once inside the thunderstorm, the aircraft experienced severe hail impact and violent turbulence. Several critical systems began flagging malfunctions.
DGCA's preliminary assessment confirms that the aircraft suffered Angle Of Attack (AOA) fault while alternate law protection was lost. These failures were triggered by the aircraft's flight control systems as the plane was tossed vertically by intense updrafts and downdrafts. Amid this chaos, the autopilot disengaged. The crew was forced to assume full manual control under rapidly fluctuating airspeed indications and extreme stress.
At one point, the aircraft entered a steep descent, recording a rate of 8,500 feet per minute. Compounding the crisis were multiple stall warnings and alerts indicating the aircraft was nearing its Maximum Operating Speed and Mach number.
The pilots, relying on manual flying skills, kept the jet stable until it emerged from the weather system. The aircraft continued toward Srinagar on the same heading to exit the storm in the shortest possible time.
Warnings Explained
An Angle of Attack (AoA) sensor fault, possibly from hail or ice, can disrupt the stall warning system, which alerts pilots with lights, sounds, or vibrations when the wing's angle to the airflow risks a stall, where the plane loses lift and control.
In this situation, the Airbus A321's fly-by-wire system switched to Alternate Law, disabling protections like stall and overspeed safeguards. Alternate Law is a degraded flight control mode in Airbus fly-by-wire systems where certain automated protections, like stall and overspeed safeguards, are disabled, requiring more direct pilot control.
Unreliable airspeed readings, likely from blocked pitot tubes (which measure airspeed), triggered repeated stall and maximum speed warnings.
Amid severe turbulence, the A321 descended rapidly at 8,500 feet per minute at one stage, far exceeding the typical 1,500-3,000 feet per minute for a standard approach.
With the autopilot system having tripped, the pilots manually flew the jetliner into Srinagar, declaring an emergency and made a safe landing.
The Landing
Upon stabilisation, the crew completed all Electronic Centralised Aircraft Monitoring (ECAM) checklist actions and declared a "PAN PAN" - the international standard urgency signal that someone aboard a vehicle uses to declare an emergency.
Srinagar ATC guided the flight through its final descent. Despite earlier system malfunctions, the aircraft landed safely in Srinagar without further incident.
Damage Assessment
Following landing, a standard post-flight walk-around inspection revealed significant damage to the aircraft's nose cone, specifically the radome, which houses weather radar and is vulnerable to hail impact.
There were no injuries reported among passengers or crew.
The DGCA has confirmed that the incident is under formal investigation. Technical teams from IndiGo and the regulator are currently assessing both flight data and cockpit voice recordings.
Passengers On Board
Among the passengers on board was a five-member delegation from the Trinamool Congress (TMC), including MPs Derek O'Brien, Nadimul Haque, Manas Bhunia, Mamata Thakur, and party spokesperson Sagarika Ghose.
"It was a near-death experience," Ms Ghose said after landing. "People were screaming, praying, panicking. Hats off to the pilot who brought us through."
Her description matched video footage from inside the cabin that has since surfaced on social media. Passengers were seen gripping seats, many visibly distressed, some praying.
IndiGo confirmed in a statement that the aircraft was undergoing mandatory inspections and maintenance before being cleared for further operations.