Representational Image. (IANS)
Kanpur: A technical glitch caused the doors of an IndiGo Mumbai-Kanpur flight (6E 824) to jam for nearly 32 minutes after landing, triggering panic among passengers. Later, the technical team opened the doors to evacuate all flyers safely.
Hemant Pandey, a poet from Kanpur who was on the flight, said people panicked as the flight was initially delayed by 30 minutes from Mumbai. Upon reaching Kanpur, the plane could not land for 12 minutes due to the delay in clearance from the Air Traffic Control (ATC). “It was scheduled to land at Kanpur Airport at 3:20 pm, but arrived at 3:46 pm. Unable to receive clearance from the ATC, it hovered in the air for about 12 minutes before landing at 3:58 pm,” he said.
“When it finally landed, the gate did not open for over half an hour, causing panic among passengers. They repeatedly pleaded with the air hostess to open the doors, but they were too helpless. Finally, the technical team fixed the issue after 32 minutes,” Pandey added.
However, IndiGo station manager Pankaj Pandey said there were no technical problems with the aircraft. “The engine took time to cool down, and passengers were disembarked in about 20 minutes, not half an hour, as claimed. The plane landed late in Kanpur, and the engine took time to cool down. The flight departed for Mumbai at 5:30 pm,” he added.
An investigation revealed that the problem was caused by a discharged battery. The technical team charged it, following which the doors started functioning.
A few days back, an IndiGo flight from Kolkata to Srinagar landed at the Varanasi airport following a reported fuel leak, officials said. Sources said a malfunction of a sensor in the aircraft led to a false alarm of fuel leakage, following which the plane landed in Varanasi.
However, according to the Gomti Zone Police, the IndiGo flight 6E-6961 was diverted to Varanasi after the pilot detected a fuel leakage mid-air. Assessing the gravity of the situation, the pilot immediately contacted Air Traffic Control (ATC) at Varanasi and sought permission for an emergency landing, they said.
The aircraft safely landed at the Lal Bahadur Shastri International Airport at 4.10 pm, police said. All 166 passengers on board were reported to be safe and were escorted to the arrival hall soon after landing, they added.
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