Latest news with #6E2142
Hindustan Times
a day ago
- Climate
- Hindustan Times
‘Severe weather, delayed re-routing to blame for IndiGo flight damage'
: Severe weather and non-timely action in re-routing the aircraft were the probable causes that led to the IndiGo's Delhi-Srinagar flight incident where the aircraft suffered damages to its radome on May 21, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) found in its investigation. 'Severe weather, delayed re-routing to blame for IndiGo flight damage' The IndiGo A321 neo aircraft VT-IMD while operating flight 6E 2142 from Delhi to Srinagar encountered severe weather, including hail, during cruise. Due to this, the aircraft radome was found damaged after landing. The incident was investigated by aviation regulator DGCA. 'The investigation has revealed that severe weather existing en-route and non-timely action in re-routing the aircraft clear of weather was the probable cause of the occurrence,' Union minister of state for civil aviation Murlidhar Mohol told the Rajya Sabha in a written reply on Monday. He was responding to a question from AAP lawmaker Sanjay Singh. The incident occurred when the aircraft, while cruising at FL360, entered hailstorm and severe turbulence near Pathankot. No passenger was injured in the incident. According to the crew statement, they requested the Northern control (IAF) for deviation towards left (International Border) due to weather on the route, however it was not approved. Later, the crew contacted Lahore to enter into their airspace to avoid the weather but the same was refused too. 'Crew initially attempted to return but as they were close to the thunderstorm cloud, they decided to penetrate the weather. Subsequently, they encountered hailstorm and severe turbulence. The crew chose to continue at the same heading to exit the weather by the shortest route towards Srinagar,' the DGCA said in a statement on May 23, two days after the incident. 'While in thunderstorm cloud, warnings of Angle of Attack fault, Alternate Law protection lost, backup Speed scale unreliable were triggered. Due to updraft and downdraft encountered by the aircraft the Autopilot tripped and aircraft speed had wide variations,' it added. As a result, Maximum Operating Speed/Maximum operating Mach (VMO/MMO) warnings and repeated stall warnings were triggered, it said. 'During this period the aircraft rate of descent reached 8500 fpm. Crew flew the aircraft manually till they exited the hailstorm. After carrying out all check list actions (ECAM actions), the crew declared PAN PAN to Srinagar ATC and requested for RADAR vectors and made a safe landing with Auto Thrust operating normally,' it added.
India.com
23-06-2025
- Climate
- India.com
DGCA Issues Revised Safety Guidelines For Monsoon Flying Amid Rising Weather Risks
Amid increasing instances of weather-related flight incidents during the monsoon season, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has issued a revised set of operational guidelines aimed at strengthening aviation safety. The updated circular, issued on June 12, follows a recent incident involving IndiGo flight 6E 2142 from Delhi to Srinagar. The aircraft suffered nose cone damage due to severe weather, but landed safely with 227 passengers on board. The revised guidelines warn of monsoon-related hazards such as heavy rainfall, turbulence, windshear, lightning, hailstorms, and en route icing. Pilots have been directed to plan weather avoidance early and maintain a minimum distance of 20 nautical miles upwind of convective weather systems. Flying below such clouds is strongly discouraged due to the risk of windshear, hail, microbursts, and lightning strikes. The new guidelines focus on the threat of Ice Crystal Icing (ICI), a phenomenon caused by high concentrations of small ice crystals accumulating inside aircraft engines, particularly at high altitudes near storm systems. A difficult-to-detect phenomenon caused by high-altitude ice particles that can accumulate inside aircraft engines. ICI may lead to engine vibration, power loss, or even damage to air data probes. The DGCA advises lateral deviation as the preferred method of avoidance. Emphasis has also been placed on flight crews' experience. While standard cockpit requirements continue to apply, the DGCA has advised airlines to deploy more experienced personnel during adverse weather conditions and to conduct thorough fatigue risk assessments. Additionally, Flight Duty Time Limits (FDTL) extensions are not permitted during the monsoon season. To enhance situational awareness, the DGCA has asked airlines to incorporate scenario-based training programs requiring pilots to assess real-time weather risks and decide on en route diversion or returning to the point of origin. Pilots are encouraged to actively use Threat and Error Management (TEM) frameworks that treat air turnbacks or diversions as proactive safety measures rather than operational failures. During approach and landing, the circular warns of visual illusions caused by weather conditions. Rain at night can exaggerate the brightness of approach lights, making the runway appear closer than it is, which may lead to premature descent and landing short of the threshold. Conversely, wet runways reflect less light, making the aircraft seem farther from the runway than it is. This can cause late flaring and hard landings. Pilots have been reminded to remain alert to such illusions and make timely, informed decisions to maintain flight safety. The DGCA also reinforced the importance of pilots reporting real-time weather reports. PIREPs (Pilot Reports) help bridge gaps between forecast and actual conditions by providing firsthand data on visibility, turbulence, storms, and icing. These reports assist other pilots, air traffic controllers, and flight dispatch teams in making safer, more accurate decisions. Pilots encountering significant turbulence must notify ATC with details of position and severity and request altitude or lateral changes as needed. Reaffirming the growing threat from climate-driven weather volatility, the DGCA urged operators to prioritise safety over schedule, act proactively in uncertain weather, and ensure clear communication across all flight stages.
Indian Express
09-06-2025
- Climate
- 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.
India Gazette
03-06-2025
- Business
- India Gazette
IATA has no concerns with India's aviation safety and infrastructure readiness
New Delhi [India], June 3 (ANI): Nick Careen, IATA's Senior Vice President, Operations, Safety and Security, on Tuesday highlighted that the Indian aviation market has not faced any concerns in terms of operational safety and infrastructure readiness. While speaking to ANI, the International Air Transport Association's (IATA) vice president said, 'Specific to this market, we don't have any real have not seen any major problems or any major concerns... With PM Modi's presence at the appropriate level and when the right people are involved, you get good outcomes.' Careen commented about an incident involving IndiGo flight 6E 2142, saying, 'The learning from that (incident) would involve better coordination. I am sure that's something that would be under consideration. I am 100% confident about it' IndiGo flight 6E 2142, flying from Delhi to Srinagar on May 21, was struck by a severe hailstorm that caused visible damage to the aircraft's nose. The aircraft had sought entry into Pakistani airspace to circumvent the weather, but this was denied by Pakistani authorities. The IATA VP also commented on the decision of India and Pakistan to close their airspace for carriers flying out from these countries, saying that airspace should not become a tool in disputes. 'We believe airspace should not be used as a tool in disputes and should remain neutral. Unfortunately, that's not always been the the meantime, airlines find a way around, but it does have an impact. It could increase the cost and time. Primarily, we hope that airspace will be managed accordingly and open for everybody to use safely and efficiently,' he said. Earlier on Monday, while addressing the IATA's 81st Annual General Meeting, PM Modi had outlined three foundational pillars driving India's aviation sector: first, a vast market--not merely a collection of consumers but a reflection of India's aspirational society. Second, a strong demographic and talent pool--where young innovators are pioneering breakthroughs in artificial intelligence, robotics, and clean energy. Third, an open and supportive policy ecosystem--enabling industrial growth. PM Modi emphasised that with these strengths, India is poised to elevate its aviation sector to unprecedented heights. (ANI)
First Post
26-05-2025
- Politics
- First Post
Pakistan Denies Airspace to Indian Flight Facing Turbulence Vantage on Firstpost
Pakistan Denies Airspace to Indian Flight Facing Turbulence | Vantage on Firstpost | N18G Pakistan Denies Airspace to Indian Flight Facing Turbulence | Vantage on Firstpost | N18G What was supposed to be a routine Indigo flight from Delhi to Srinagar turned into a mid-air nightmare. Flight 6E 2142 encountered a violent thunderstorm near Pathankot, forcing the pilots to seek emergency help — even from Pakistan. But politics trumped principles. Despite a dire situation, Pakistan denied entry into its airspace, pushing 220 passengers and crew into deeper turbulence. Did Pakistan put the lives of 220 Indians at risk? Alyson Le Grange tells you. See More
