Passengers aboard an IndiGo flight from New Delhi to Srinagar endured a harrowing experience on Wednesday night after the aircraft encountered severe turbulence amidst a powerful hailstorm and dust storm. The incident occurred as the flight was cruising near Pathankot, Punjab, at an altitude of approximately 86,000 feet when it suddenly entered extreme weather conditions that caused significant turbulence and external damage to the plane.
The flight crew sought to divert the aircraft into Pakistani airspace to evade the intense storm. However, both the Indian Air Force’s Northern Control and Lahore Air Traffic Control denied the request, citing restrictions on Indian flights entering Pakistani airspace due to strained diplomatic relations between the two countries. According to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), the crew initially requested permission from Indian authorities to deviate leftward near the international border to avoid the weather, but this was not granted. Subsequently, their request to enter Pakistani airspace was also refused.
With these options unavailable, the pilots considered returning to Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport. However, being already close to the storm, they decided to proceed towards Srinagar instead. As the aircraft flew into the storm, it was battered by heavy hail and violent turbulence, causing critical onboard systems to trigger multiple warnings. Passengers experienced panic as the plane was subjected to intense shaking.
At one critical moment, the aircraft descended rapidly at a rate of 8,500 feet per minute, highlighting the severity of the turbulence. The pilots manually controlled the aircraft throughout this turbulent phase. After successfully navigating out of the hailstorm and performing all necessary emergency checklist actions, the crew declared a ‘PAN PAN’ urgency call to Srinagar Air Traffic Control. They requested radar assistance and safely landed the plane, with the auto thrust system functioning normally.
Fortunately, no passengers sustained injuries during the ordeal. A post-flight inspection revealed damage to the aircraft’s nose radome, confirming the severity of the hail impact. The DGCA has initiated a probe into the incident to better understand the circumstances and ensure such events are mitigated in the future.
This incident underscores the challenges posed by extreme weather conditions in aviation and the importance of coordination between air traffic authorities, especially in geopolitically sensitive airspaces.
