DGCA Grounds IndiGo Pilots of Turbulent Delhi-Srinagar Flight

India's aviation regulator grounded two pilots who operated an IndiGo flight from Delhi to Srinagar on Wednesday evening after it flew through severe hailstorm, officials said on Friday as new details emerged of their interaction with traffic controllers in Lahore and Srinagar amid what was a narrow escape for the 227 people on board.

- Neha LM Tripathi

NEW DELHI:

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) revealed in a statement that the Airbus A321 Neo at one point plummeted at 8,500 feet per minute—more than four times the normal descent rate—as multiple flight control systems failed while trapped inside the storm, with pilots receiving simultaneous warnings of both stall (a condition in which an aircraft begins to lose altitude) and overspeed conditions as they fought to regain control.

Details also emerged of how the pilots initiated contact with air traffic control in Pakistan after Indian controllers, bound by reciprocal airspace restrictions following recent military tensions, advised against deviating westwards but provided contact frequencies to coordinate directly with Lahore ATC, which denied the request despite the emergency.

"The matter is under investigation by the DGCA," the regulator confirmed. "As part of the investigations, the two pilots are grounded pending investigation," a DGCA official said, asking not to be named.

Civil aviation minister Ram Mohan Naidu acknowledged the gravity of the situation.

"We are looking into the incident, but in the meantime from the information that I have, I would like to appreciate the efforts of the pilots and the crew who have been very composed in the way they have handled even in that weather that the flight has gone through," Naidu said.