For 24 Seconds, Pilots Did Not Have Control Over Plane Carrying Rahul Gandhi Ahead of Karnataka Poll
New Delhi, August 31: The extent of Congress president Rahul Gandhi’s mid-air scare ahead of Karnataka polls has been revealed as aviation regulator DGCA made public its report on the incident after more than three months.
The probe report ruled out any conspiracy, as was alleged by the Congress at the time, but accepted that the aircraft’s crew had a delayed response to a steep loss of altitude after the autopilot function developed a snag. It took the pilots 24 seconds to get the chartered plane under control, DGCA said.
On April 26, the 10-seater plane carrying Gandhi had suddenly tilted heavily on the left side and the altitude dipped steeply with violent shuddering of the aircraft body before landing at the Hubli airport in north Karnataka. Besides Gandhi, there were four other passengers, two pilots, one cabin crew and one engineer when the incident took place.
Gandhi was going to attend a rally ahead of the assembly polls in the state. Alleging "intentional tampering" with aircraft, the Congress party had demanded a probe into the "suspicious and faulty performance" of the aircraft.
Congress leader Manish Tiwari said the DGCA report about the “near escape” of Gandhi in the plane malfunction was very disturbing and demanded that the report be vetted by security and aviation experts to ascertain if it was a technical malfunction or something else.
In its 30-page report, the two-member committee set up by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to probe the incident, said there was no prior snag in the Ligare Aviation-operated private Falcon 2000 jet, registered as VT-AVH.
"Crew initiated action only when the master cautions warning i.e after 15 seconds of autopilot disengage," the DGCA said in its report on the four-month-old incident.
Such a warning appears in the form of a red light and audio warning in the cockpit for the pilot to take action and avoid in the split second and avoid any mishap.
The aircraft was finally recovered to straight and level flight 24 seconds after the autopilot got disengaged. In these 24 seconds, the plane had lost 735 feet of altitude.
“From the above it is inferred that the crew actions were slightly delayed to take the corrective actions,” the report said, blaming “lack of institutional awareness of the crew.”
After the incident, the Congress chief had said the plane had suddenly come down by 8,000 feet and he had believed it would be his end. He said that after the narrow escape, he had decided to thank Lord Shiva by undertaking the pilgrimage to Kailash Mansarovar.
Gandhi's close aide Kaushal Vidyarthi, who was also travelling with him, had filed a complaint with local police besides writing to the Karnataka Director General of Police expressing concern over the series of events.
Following this, civil aviation minister Suresh Prabhu had ordered a detailed probe into the incident. Subsequently, the DGCA had set up the panel, with one member each from the safety and airworthiness wings, to investigate the incident.
Courtesy: www.news18.com
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Bengaluru: Four arrested for housebreaking, threats, extortion; fake PSI among accused
Bengaluru: Vidyaranyapura police have arrested four persons, including a man posing as a Police Sub-Inspector (PSI), for allegedly breaking into a house, threatening the occupants, and extorting money while wearing police uniforms.
The arrested accused have been identified as Mallikarjuna, Pramod, Vinay, and Hrithik.
Police said the accused had hatched a plan to pose as police personnel, conduct fake raids, and extort money from residents by intimidation.
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According to the police, Mallikarjuna had failed the PSI examination twice and later falsely projected himself as a PSI. He allegedly conducted photo shoots in his hometown, Siraguppa, wearing a police uniform, baton, cap, and shoes, claiming to be serving as a PSI in Bengaluru.
On December 7, the four accused allegedly went to the house of Naveen in the Vidyaranyapura limits, threatened him with a stick and an iron rod, and claimed they had information that he was selling ganja. Under the pretext of searching, they allegedly extorted ₹87,000 through bank transfer, ₹53,000 in cash kept in the house, and ₹2,000 from his wallet.
Following Naveen’s complaint, Vidyaranyapura police registered a case and launched an operation, leading to the arrest of all four accused. Police have seized ₹45,000 in cash and the car used to commit the crime.
Further investigation is underway.
