Hyderabad: “A few minutes after the flight took off, it started shaking due to high speed wind. We all could feel it inside the flight. Then the aircraft went upwards and downwards but the shaking did not stop. I was holding the front seat tightly with my hands. Everyone got scared and hoped and prayed it won’t be one’s last journey,” said Mr L. Venu Gopal Reddy, chairman of Andhra Pradesh State Council of Higher Education.
He was on the Spicejet aircraft that took off from Rajiv Gandhi International Airport at about 5.30 pm and landed safely at Vijayawada airport after going through turbulence mid-way in the air due to the storm of Friday evening.
AP women and child development minister, Peethala Sujatha was almost injured when the flight hit a turbulence. She was literally shaking when she got down from the flight at Vijayawada on Friday.
There were IAS officers and academics among other passengers on the flight, all of whom heaved a sigh of relief after the safe landing. “The pilot did not even announce or appeal to us not to panic,” said a passenger.
Passengers raised concern about safety being compromised and said the Air Traffic Control should not have given clearance for the aircraft to fly in such turbulent weather.
When contacted, ATC officials said the safety of passengers was given top priority and that they give clearance for aircraft only after following safety procedures. They said that sometimes weather changed in a short time and it was one such case on Friday.
Aviation experts too said weather cold change in a short span of time and the ATC cannot be blamed for such a situation. TS aviation adviser Bharat Reddy said there were procedures to be followed before giving approval for take-off and the Air Traffic Control does not give permission unless those rules are followed, come what may.
