IndiGo flight lands in Srinagar with damaged nose due to turbulence, hailstorm
Amid heavy rain and hailstorm in Delhi, an IndiGo flight heading to Srinagar faced severe turbulence and damage on Wednesday evening. While the nose of the aircraft suffered damages due to the weather, the flight landed safely, according to Srinagar Airport Director Javed Anjum.
'Flight 6E 2142 enocountered bad weather and a hail storm and emergency was reported by the pilot to the ATC. However, the flight landed safely at Srinagar at 8.30 pm. All Aircrew and passengers are safe,' the spokesperson of the Srinagar Airport Authority, adding that there were 227 passengers on board.
Among those on board were Trinamool Congress MPs Sagarika Ghose, Derek O'Brien, Mamata Bala Thakur, and Nadimul Haque.
Just saw some scary turbulence visuals of the Indigo Delhi-Srinagar flight and came across this pic tweeted by @sidhant , saw TMC RS MP Nadimul Haque, on checking realised their entire delegation headed to Poonch was indeed on the flight.
Glad to hear that all the passengers and… pic.twitter.com/sQASKyIyz5
— Priyanka Chaturvedi🇮🇳 (@priyankac19) May 21, 2025
'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,' a statement from Indigo said.
According to live flight tracking website Flightradar24, the aircraft landed in Srinagar at its scheduled time of 6:30 pm.
Severe turbulence was reported during the flight.
'The airport team attended to the customers after arrival of the aircraft, prioritizing their wellbeing and comfort. The aircraft will be released post necessary inspection and maintenance,' the airline said.
The return flight from Srinagar to Delhi, 6E 2268, which was scheduled to take off from Srinagar at 7:05 pm and reach Delhi at 8:40 pm, had still not departed, as of 9:24 pm, according to Flightradar24.
A red alert was issued in Delhi in the evening on Wednesday as strong winds, up to 79 kmph, swept across the city. At least one person was killed and several electricity poles were uprooted during the storm.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Indian Express
a day ago
- Indian Express
What happened to the IndiGo flight which lost its nose in a hailstorm last month?
On the evening of May 21, IndiGo flight 6E 2142 flying from Delhi to Srinagar experienced extreme turbulence after it was caught in a severe hailstorm. Videos shared by the passengers revealed a scary situation, with the aircraft shaking violently amid flashes of lightning in the windows. And upon landing in Srinagar, it was discovered that a large part of the Airbus A321's nose cone had suffered significant damage due to the hail. We had a narrow escape from Delhi to Srinagar flight indigo. Special thanks to the captain and cabin crew. @indigo @GreaterKashmir @RisingKashmir — I_am_aaqib (@am_aaqib) May 21, 2025 'Flight 6E 2142 encountered bad weather and a hail storm and emergency was reported by the pilot to the ATC. However, the flight landed safely at Srinagar at 8.30 pm. All Aircrfthe inew and passengers are safe,' the spokesperson of the Srinagar Airport Authority said. Thunderstorms pose a grave risk to aircraft and can result in structural failure and loss of control (LOC) accidents. Pilots go to great lengths to avoid or deviate around storm clouds, unless inevitable. Here is everything to know. Thunderstorms are cumulonimbus (CB) clouds, thousands of feet tall and hundreds of miles wide. Some thunderstorm clouds rise over 50,000 ft, well above the maximum altitude an aircraft can climb, and far higher than the ceilings of most aircraft. Types of thunderstorms * Single-cell: The cumulonimbus formation contains only a single thunderstorm cell. The formation of a thunderstorm inside a CB cloud, its maturing and finally its dissipation constitute a cell. * Multi-cell: The cumulonimbus formation contains several thunderstorm cells at different stages of formation and maturation. * Squall line: A multi-cell thunderstorm in which the cells are arranged in a long line stretching hundreds of miles. * Super-cell: A super-cell is a rotating thunderstorm, the rotating movement caused by the presence of a mesocyclone, a rising vortex of air rotating around a vertical axis. Super-cells pack the most destructive weather for flying. * Embedded thunderstorms: Embedded inside ordinary cloud decks, these can be hard to spot visually or without weather radar. Why do thunderstorms pose a threat to aircraft? Thunderstorms pack severe turbulence, hail, heavy rain, icing, lightning, downbursts, microbursts, windshear, updrafts, tornadoes, gusty winds, and engines ingest a lot of water – all of which are a hazard to flying. A thunderstorm's destructive effects can be felt 10 to 20 nautical miles from its outer edges. * Ice accumulation on wings alters their aerodynamic properties and destroys 'lift', the aerodynamic force that keeps an aircraft aloft. Ice crystals can block pitot tubes, the nozzles near an aircraft's nose that feed air to the airspeed indicator. * Lightning can damage an aircraft's skin, communication antennas, electronic navigational equipment and magnetic compass. It can also leave the pilots temporarily blind. * Downbursts, microbursts and updrafts are powerful vertical columns of air moving up or down. An aircraft flying through a downburst, microburst or updraft loses or gains altitude rapidly without pilot inputs. * Windshear is a rogue wind that rapidly changes direction. An aircraft encounters both headwind and tailwind in a windshear. Close to the ground, windshear encounters have led to several fatal air crashes. It was hail that stole the nose cone of the IndiGo A320. In his classic book The Fate is the Hunter, American aviator Ernest K Gann compared his experience of getting caught in a hailstorm with being trapped in a 'tin can' with a 'thousand machine guns' pointed at the aircraft. How does a pilot account for a thunderstorm? A mere thunderstorm warning is not enough basis for an automatic no-go decision. If all pilots of all scheduled flights along a route with a thunderstorm warning were to take a 'no-go' decision outright, it would result in the cancellation of hundreds of flights and impact passengers and airlines. Before each flight, the pilot files a flight plan with the Air Traffic Control detailing all information about the flight: The destination, the aircraft operator, fuel, weight, route, flight time, alternate airports in case of diversion, winds aloft, airspace restrictions, weather en route and at destination (including thunderstorm warning). Thus, the pilot carefully studies the weather before taking a 'go' or 'no-go' decision regarding take-off, even choosing to cancel or delay the departure when necessary. A host of weather bureaus provide weather data to pilots. Aircraft today have onboard weather radar and datalink weather, making modern jets better-equipped to divert or deviate around storms. SIGMET, or Significant Meteorological Information, reports contain warnings about hazardous weather like thunderstorms, turbulence, icing and hail. Onboard weather radar is an effective tool for storm avoidance. Scanning for precipitation, it 'paints' a picture of the weather ahead on a screen in the cockpit: Black patches indicate very light precipitation, green patches indicate light precipitation, yellow medium precipitation, red heavy precipitation and magenta extreme precipitation or turbulence. However, it cannot detect a storm cell hiding behind heavy rain. Every Airbus aircraft is equipped with an Electronic Centralised Aircraft Monitor (ECAM), which displays engine and aircraft system information to pilots along with audio alerts, including system failures and corrective actions to be followed. The Airbus computer operates under three flight control laws. Essentially, when an Airbus is flying under Alternate or Direct Law, the flight is warning its pilots: 'Now be careful with what you do, as my ability to automatically keep the aircraft safe has been reduced.' The pilots of the IndiGo flight, 6E 2142, were confident they could steer the plane away from the path of the thunderstorm. To deviate, they first sought permission from the Indian Air Force's Northern Area Control Centre (NACC) to fly towards the India-Pakistan International Border (IB), which the IAF refused. The Indian Express had cited IAF sources who said that the NACC's directive was 'within the frame of the ban on Indian aircraft in Pakistani airspace'. A request to Lahore ATC to permit a brief entry into Pakistani airspace to bypass the storm was also turned down. The pilots considered turning back, since the flight was likely experiencing the effects of the thunderstorm. 'Crew initially attempted to turn back, but as they were close to the thunderstorm cloud, they decided to penetrate the weather,' the DGCA said in a statement. It is generally not recommended to turn back once inside a storm, as turns can overstress the airframe. Flying straight ahead and 'riding the storm' is the best bet to reach smooth air in minimum time. Inside the storm, the A320 was tossed up and down by severe updrafts and downdrafts, climbing and descending wildly on its own. A severe hailstorm pried out the nose cone protecting the weather radar, which is designed to detect inclement weather. This rendered the radar unusable, with the readings of cockpit gauges exceeding their design limits and likely becoming unreliable and unreadable. The IndiGo crew received multiple fault warnings about aircraft systems, including 'Angle of Attack' fault, 'Alternate Law' loss, unreliable speed, stall and overspeed warnings. It is likely that many of the warning messages the IndiGo pilots received were false alarms. But if they lost Alternate Law protection, it definitely increased their workload at a critical time. Despite the scary scenes, the loss of the aircraft's nose did not pose a direct threat to the passengers within the plane. The passenger cabin is essentially a sealed, pressurised tube, and the hole was outside of this area.
Time of India
02-06-2025
- Time of India
IMD issues yellow alert for Delhi; Northeast India faces monsoon fury
IMD issues yellow alert for Delhi; Northeast India faces monsoon fury (PTI) The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a yellow alert for Delhi on Monday, warning of possible thunderstorms, lightning, and gusty winds across the region. Meanwhile the northeastern states are grappling with the aftermath of heavy rainfall, which has triggered landslides and claimed at least 30 lives, causing widespread devastation. Delhi experienced a significant temperature drop on Monday, with maximum temperature settling at 36.1 degrees celsius, 3.9 degrees below the season's average. The minimum temperature was recorded at 22.6 degrees celsius, marking 4.3 notches below normal levels. IMD predicts Delhi will witness generally cloudy skies with light rain or thunderstorm activity over the next two days. Gusty winds ranging from 40 to 50 kmph are expected, with speeds temporarily reaching up to 60 kmph during thunderstorms. No heat wave conditions are likely over the next seven days. Winds are expected to shift northwesterly later in the week, maintaining moderate speeds of 20 to 30 kmph. The Air Quality Index (AQI) stood at 158, according to the Central Pollution Control Board's national bulletin for the past 24 hours. Delhi flights disrupted Adverse weather conditions significantly impacted air travel at Delhi airport on Sunday evening. A total of 14 flights were diverted between 4:30 pm and 6:10 pm due to inclement weather, with seven flights redirected to Jaipur, two each to Chandigarh and Amritsar, and one each to Ahmedabad, Dehradun, and Lucknow. According to flight tracking website more than 350 flights experienced delays at the airport on Sunday, highlighting the severe impact of weather conditions on aviation operations. Northeast India faces tragedy India's northeast region is grappling with devastating monsoon consequences. Flash floods and landslides following torrential monsoon rain over the past two days have claimed at least 30 lives across multiple states. A red alert warning has been issued for several districts in the northeast region following three days of non-stop downpour. Conrad K Sangma, Chief Minister of Meghalaya state, has ordered officials to remain on high alert, "especially in landslide-prone and low-lying areas."
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
02-06-2025
- Business Standard
IndiGo flight makes emergency landing after bird hit; all passengers safe
A Ranchi-bound IndiGo flight made an emergency landing at Ranchi's Birsa Munda Airport on Monday after being hit by a vulture at around 4,000 feet altitude, an official said, as quoted by PTI. He added that all the passengers and crew members in the aircraft are safe. However, the incident that occurred at 1.14 pm, caused some damages to the aircraft — Airbus 320. "An IndiGo flight suffered a bird hit near Ranchi. It was approximately 10 to 12 nautical miles away from here at an altitude of 3,000 to 4,000 feet when the incident occurred. The IndiGo flight was coming from Patna to Ranchi, and the pilot had to make an emergency landing here," R R Mourya, director of Birsa Munda Airport, told PTI. The aircraft was later scheduled to go to Kolkata, another official said. The incident comes a day after an IndiGo flight from Raipur to Delhi encountered severe turbulence due to a sudden dust storm as it approached the national capital's Indira Gandhi International Airport, eventually forcing the pilot to abort landing at the last minute. The pilot said that the wind speed was upto 80 km per hour, therefore he discontinued the approach and climbed back until the weather cleared. Similarly, on May 21, another IndiGo flight from Delhi to Srinagar faced extreme turbulence due to a hailstorm, resulting in visible damage to the aircraft's nose. The flight was denied permission to divert into Pakistani airspace to evade thunderstorms, and it made an emergency landing at the Srinagar airport.
