Piloted by former Union minister and BJP MP Rajiv Pratap Rudy, a Delhi-Patna IndiGo flight (6E-6497) carrying 181 passengers and six crew members was diverted to Lucknow late Wednesday night after encountering severe weather and turbulence near the Bihar capital.
Rudy, who is also a trained commercial pilot and represents Bihar’s Saran constituency in the Lok Sabha, reportedly made multiple attempts to land in Patna but aborted them due to unsafe weather conditions. The flight was initially considered for diversion to Varanasi, but after operational clearance could not be secured, the aircraft was finally diverted to Lucknow.
The aircraft landed safely at Lucknow airport at around 11pm on Wednesday and three passengers were offloaded. The flight left for Patna at 12.30am on Thursday.
Speaking exclusively to Hindustan Times, Rudy said, “There was bad weather as we were approaching Patna and suddenly we experienced unexpected turbulence. However, we rely on advanced instruments, powerful radars and constant communication between pilots regarding weather conditions. It was a situation where a decision had to be taken in a fraction of a second.”
“Our nearest airport was Varanasi, but since it was shut, we diverted to Lucknow where we had a safe and smooth landing,” he said.
“After landing in Lucknow, I said ‘now you all can clap as we have landed safely’. Everyone was happy. We started for Patna once the weather improved at 12.30 am and landed at Patna at 2am. I was happy to see everyone smiling.”
www.hindustantimes.com
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