Latest news with #Samiullah
Daily Tribune
23-05-2025
- Daily Tribune
IndiGo Flight Struck by Hailstorm Mid-Air, Lands Safely in Srinagar Despite Severe Damage
An IndiGo passenger aircraft traveling from New Delhi to Srinagar encountered a violent hailstorm mid-flight on Wednesday, triggering widespread panic among passengers and causing significant damage to the aircraft's nose cone. Despite the harrowing experience, the flight crew managed to land the plane safely in Srinagar. The incident occurred during what is typically a routine 90-minute journey between the Indian capital and the largest city in India-administered Kashmir. According to a statement from IndiGo, the flight 'encountered a sudden hailstorm en route,' but the cabin and flight crew 'followed established protocol,' ensuring a safe landing. Though the airline did not disclose the extent of the damage, images circulated online show a large hole in the nose of the aircraft, believed to have been caused by hail impact. Severe weather, including heavy rain, lightning, and thunderstorms, was reported in Delhi on the same evening. A video captured by passenger Sheikh Samiullah and posted on social media platform X (formerly Twitter) showed scenes of chaos inside the aircraft as it was rocked by severe turbulence. Screams filled the cabin, with passengers visibly shaken and children crying. Speaking to the Press Trust of India, Samiullah recounted the terrifying ordeal: 'There was so much turbulence that I thought it was my last flight. Everyone thought we would crash. It was such a traumatic experience.' He further expressed his shock at the extent of the damage once passengers disembarked, adding, 'After we deboarded and saw the plane's damage, it was even more traumatic. I wish no one goes through an experience like this.' Aviation experts say incidents involving hail are not uncommon. Mary Schiavo, former Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Transportation and a CNN aviation analyst, explained that hail can breach a plane's nose or windshield and significantly affect performance. 'Sometimes bad weather doesn't show up on the radar and you're in the hail before you know it,' she said. Despite such challenges, Schiavo emphasized that commercial aircraft are designed to withstand severe conditions and praised the pilot's manual handling of the situation. While no injuries were reported, the incident has once again raised concerns about in-flight safety and the unpredictability of weather-related turbulence. It also follows a series of recent turbulence-related incidents globally, including a Singapore Airlines flight last year in which one person died and over 70 were injured.
Observer
23-05-2025
- Climate
- Observer
Inside a harrowing, hail-damaged flight: ‘We thought it was our last'
Sheikh Samiullah, a frequent flyer, thought nothing of it when he heard the pilot of his flight tell passengers to fasten their seat belts and ask the cabin crew to be seated. But within minutes, the plane encountered a severe hailstorm and suddenly plunged. Samiullah and other passengers aboard the Wednesday flight by an IndiGo passenger jet traveling from the Indian capital of New Delhi to Srinagar, in the Kashmir region, started screaming and shouting. Even the flight attendants were crying, he said. 'They were calling their gods, we were calling our gods,' Samiullah, 33, said of the passengers shouting prayers in Hindi and Arabic. 'We thought it was our last flight; we thought we were going to die.' The plane jolted upward and from side to side, and then plunged again, over a period of five to six minutes, Samiullah recounted. He was sure the plane would crash into the mountains below or be struck by the lightning visible from the windows. A video that Samiullah, the CEO of a logistics company, posted on social media showed terrified passengers exclaiming as the plane jolted. 'Nobody was expecting we would go for a safe landing,' he said. But about 20 minutes after all the turmoil and fright, the plane landed safely. As passengers deplaned, they noticed a large chunk of the plane's nose was missing, apparently damaged by the hail. IndiGo said in a statement Wednesday that the flight had encountered a 'sudden hailstorm.' It added: 'The flight and cabin crew followed established protocol, and the aircraft landed safely in Srinagar.' Hail and turbulence — or unstable air movement caused by changes in wind speed and direction — are the greatest hazards to aircraft during thunderstorms, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. Hail can freeze onto other pieces of hail, sometimes growing into a huge ice ball. Hailstones larger than half an inch in diameter can 'significantly damage an aircraft in a few seconds,' the agency said. Hail can occur even in clear air several miles from a thunderstorm. Passenger aircraft are not designed to absorb large hailstone impacts without damage, Airbus said in its Safety First magazine. Extreme hailstorms can lead to loss of visibility, unreliable air data or engine failure, and the best way to avoid them is to rely on weather radars. Last year, a 73-year-old British man died and dozens were injured when a Singapore Airlines plane hit intense turbulence 10 hours into a flight from London to Singapore. The plane rose unexpectedly by 362 feet, likely because of an updraft, and sped up unexpectedly. Pilots manually hit the brakes in response, and the plane lost about 178 feet of altitude in less than five seconds. This article originally appeared in
New York Times
22-05-2025
- Climate
- New York Times
Inside a Harrowing, Hail-Damaged Flight: ‘We Thought It Was Our Last'
Sheikh Samiullah, a frequent flier, thought nothing of it when he heard the pilot of his flight tell passengers to fasten their seatbelts and ask the cabin crew to be seated. But within minutes, the plane encountered a severe hailstorm and suddenly plunged. Mr. Samiullah and other passengers aboard the Wednesday flight by an IndiGo passenger jet traveling from the Indian capital of New Delhi to Srinagar, in the Kashmir region, started screaming and shouting. Even the flight attendants were crying, he said. 'They were calling their gods, we were calling our gods,' Mr. Samiullah, 33, said of the passengers shouting prayers in Hindi and Arabic. 'We thought it was our last flight; we thought we were going to die.' The plane jolted upward and from side to side, and then plunged again, over a period of five to six minutes, Mr. Samiullah recounted. He was sure the plane would crash into the mountains below or be struck by the lightning visible from the windows. A video that Mr. Samiullah, the chief executive of a logistics company, posted on social media showed terrified passengers exclaiming as the plane jolted. 'Nobody was expecting we would go for a safe landing,' he said. But about 20 minutes after all the turmoil and fright, the plane landed safely. As passengers deplaned, they noticed a large chunk of the plane's nose was missing, apparently damaged by the hail. IndiGo said in a statement on Wednesday that the flight had encountered a 'sudden hailstorm.' It added: 'The flight and cabin crew followed established protocol, and the aircraft landed safely in Srinagar.' Hail and turbulence — or unstable air movement caused by changes in wind speed and direction — are the greatest hazards to aircraft during thunderstorms, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. Hail can freeze onto other pieces of hail, sometimes growing into a huge ice ball. Hailstones larger than half an inch in diameter can 'significantly damage an aircraft in a few seconds,' the agency said. Hail can occur even in clear air several miles from a thunderstorm. Passenger aircraft are not designed to absorb large hailstone impacts without damage, Airbus said in its Safety First magazine. Extreme hailstorms can lead to loss of visibility, unreliable air data or engine failure, and the best way to avoid them is to rely on weather radars. Last year a 73-year-old British man died and dozens were injured when a Singapore Airlines plane hit intense turbulence 10 hours into a flight from London to Singapore. The plane rose unexpectedly by 362 feet, likely because of an updraft, and sped up unexpectedly. Pilots manually hit a brake in response, and the plane lost about 178 feet of altitude in less than five seconds.
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Yahoo
Passengers scream as flight suffers severe turbulence flying through deadly Delhi storm
An IndiGo flight from the Indian capital of Delhi to Srinagar in Kashmir, carrying over 200 passengers, hit severe turbulence during an unexpected hailstorm on Wednesday, reportedly causing minor damage to the aircraft's nose. The passengers faced the harrowing mid-air experience when the aircraft was caught in the violent storm. A viral video captured panicked scenes inside the cabin, with passengers screaming and crying as the plane shook violently from turbulence. Despite the chaos, the flight landed safely in Srinagar at 6.30pm local time. '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,' the airline said in a statement on Wednesday. 'The airport team attended to the customers after arrival of aircraft, prioritising their wellbeing and comfort. The aircraft will be released post necessary inspection and maintenance.' Among the passengers on board was Sheikh Samiullah, a startup co-founder from Srinagar. He told news agency PTI: 'Everything seemed normal, until the pilot suddenly announced a rough patch ahead and asked us to fasten our seat belts. I'm a frequent flyer, but I've never experienced turbulence like this. It was terrifying. I'm truly grateful to the pilot for landing us safely,' said Mr Samiullah, the co-founder of FastBeetle, a logistics tech platform. 'Heart's still racing, but I feel like I've been reborn. Grateful to Allah,' he later wrote on X. Another passenger who was aboard the plane, Owais Maqbool Hakeem wrote on X: 'It was a near death experience. The nose of the plane is was panic and people were screaming. Everyone was scared.' The airline has not publicly confirmed reports of any damage to the aircraft. The Independent has reached out to IndiGo for comment. Meanwhile, bad weather in Delhi has led to the delay or diversion of several domestic and international flights, according to airport sources cited by ANI. Airlines like IndiGo and Air India have issued advisories urging passengers to check their flight status before leaving for the airport. IndiGo noted that heavy rain and thunderstorms in Delhi, Chandigarh, and Kolkata are disrupting flight schedules. This comes as Delhi and NCR witnessed a severe dust storm on Wednesday. After days of extreme heat, Delhi-NCR experienced a sudden weather change on Wednesday evening, with heavy rain, hailstorms, and strong winds. The storm caused uprooted trees, waterlogging, traffic jams, and damage to windows and hoardings in areas like Noida. VIDEO | Inside visuals of Srinagar-bound IndiGo flight from Delhi that suffered mid-air turbulence due to severe weather conditions. The pilot declared an "emergency" to air traffic control in Srinagar. The aircraft later landed safely and has since been grounded, officials… — Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) May 21, 2025 A 50-year-old woman, Sunita Devi, and her two-year-old grandson died after a railing net from a 21-storey building crashed onto them during the fierce dust storm in Greater Noida's Migsun Ultimo on Wednesday. They were about to enter their residential tower when the net, which covered a shaft, broke due to strong winds and fell on them, The Indian Express reported. Sunita Devi was visiting her daughter and son-in-law when the accident happened. The child succumbed to injuries during treatment. With their deaths, the toll from the storm across Delhi-NCR has risen to six. Earlier, four others were killed in Delhi and Ghaziabad, as the powerful storm caused widespread disruption – uprooting trees, damaging vehicles, affecting Delhi Metro and flight operations, and triggering power outages.
Saudi Gazette
22-05-2025
- Climate
- Saudi Gazette
Indian plane makes safe landing despite significant damage during hailstorm
DELHI — An Indian passenger jet that encountered a hailstorm mid-flight and left passengers terrified, made a safe landing, despite significant damage to the plane. The IndiGo plane was traveling from Indian capital New Delhi to Srinagar, the largest city in India-administered Kashmir on Wednesday – a flight that typically takes about an hour and a half – when it was met with 'a sudden hailstorm en route,' according to a statement from IndiGo. 'The flight and cabin crew followed established protocol, and the aircraft landed safely in Srinagar,' it said. The statement did not specify what damage the plane encountered but photographs of the aircraft show a large hole in the nose. Delhi experienced widespread rain, lightning, and thunderstorms Wednesday night. Video taken by a passenger, Sheikh Samiullah, and posted to X shows widespread panic and fear the moment the plane encountered the hail, causing severe turbulence that rattled the inside of the aircraft. People can be heard screaming and children can be heard crying as the plane shakes violently. The flight was going smoothly and passengers assumed they would arrive in Srinagar within 30 minutes when the pilot made a fasten seatbelt announcement, Samiullah told the Press Trust of India news agency. 'There was so much turbulence that I thought it was my last flight. Everyone thought we would crash. It was such a traumatic experience,' he said. 'I am a frequent flier, but I've never experienced anything like this. We are very thankful to the pilot for landing safely.' Samiullah described his shock at seeing the plane's condition when he got off. 'After we deboarded and saw the plane's damage, it was even more traumatic,' he said. 'I wish no one goes through an experience like this.' Incidents like these are not uncommon, said Mary Schiavo, a CNN transportation analyst and former inspector general of the US Department of Transportation. Hail can cause significant damage to planes, including breaching the nose and damaging the windshield, but despite this, many planes have been able to land safely, she said. Sometimes bad weather doesn't show up on the radar 'and you're in the hail before you know it,' Shiavo said. 'There have been other planes where the hail has beaten the nose in or beaten pieces of the nose off. And while (the plane) can lose equipment, the important thing is they still have the control.' Shiavo described how the pilot would have had to manually fly the plane in a 'stressful' situation. 'The performance of the plane will be impacted (by the hail). They have to make sure they keep it under control,' she said. 'And of course, they have to worry if more can go wrong other than losing the nose... It'll be a very stressful event but it's amazing the planes... can make it through that.' Incidents of severe turbulence have made headlines in the past, including one from Singapore Airlines last year, when a passenger died and more than 70 were injured. — CNN
