The aviation regulator Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has made public its inquiry report into an incident involving a plane ferrying Congress President Rahul Gandhi from Delhi to poll-bound Karnataka in April. The probe has revealed that there was a technical glitch in the plane and, as the response of the two pilots to the situation was delayed, the aircraft tilted sharply on one side and began to fall rapidly.
The DGCA called the incident “survivable” and recommended corrective training for the two pilots. The investigation also found one of the flight control computers, which controls up-down and left-right movements and rotation of an aircraft, to be faulty, though the plane had undergone regular maintenance checks. The report does not mention any foul play, as alleged by Congress party after the incident.
The incident occured on April 26, 2018, when a Falcon 2000 chartered plane was carrying five passengers, including Mr. Gandhi, and four crew members, to Hubballi. The plane was cruising at the height of 41,000 feet when the primary flight display in the cockpit indicated “yaw damper” failure and the auto pilot stopped working.
It took 15 seconds for the pilots to realise that the plane had been slanting. Until they could respond to the situation to stabilise the aircraft a total of 24 seconds had elapsed. In the meantime, the plane had tilted to 64.95 degrees and the plane had fallen by 735 feet.
“It is inferred that the crew actions were slightly delayed to take the corrective actions,” the DGCA added.
According to a senior airline pilot both the extent of the fall and the tilt in this case are substantial and dangerous but not alarming as pilots are trained for these situations.
A detailed check was carried out in Delhi and one of the flight control computers were “suspected for intermittent function” and was replaced.
The DGCA said that no injury or damage was caused due to the incident.
