- Fly91 flight IC3401 faced a technical fault near Hubballi, causing panic onboard
- The flight circled for nearly four hours over Mundgod, Davanagere, and Shivamogga
- The airline, however, maintains that there was no technical glitch
Her hands joined in prayer, she is sobbing quietly at first. It then gets more urgent, with tears streaming down her face, her body shaking, she mumbles a quiet prayer, shows a video, conveying the horror as a Fly91 flight lost control due to a sudden technical fault, leaving passengers in panic for nearly four hours mid-air.
Cries of "Oh my God", punctuated with wails, could be heard on repeat in the shaky video that has emerged.
"Oh s**t...Why is he doing like this," a man could be heard shouting, the voice relaying the panic and urgency.
"Ro mat, ro mat, kuch nahi hota, ruko (Don't cry, don't cry-it's nothing. Wait)," another voice is heard saying on the video.
The Fly91 Airlines flight IC3401 (ATR turboprop AT7), which flew out of Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Hyderabad at around 3 PM yesterday, was scheduled to land in Hubballi at 4:30 PM. However, as the aircraft approached Hubballi, it reportedly developed a technical issue, forcing pilots to abort landing.
The flight remained airborne for nearly four hours, circling over regions including Mundgod, Davanagere, and Shivamogga, as efforts were made to manage the situation and ensure a safe landing.
Passengers were gripped with fear, with many praying and breaking down in tears.
"We are holding. We will keep you updated. Have patience, kindly follow instructions," the pilot is heard instructing the passengers.
The passengers were heard telling the pilot to go back to Bengaluru.
"Ask the pilot to go to Bengaluru. Or we can go to Belgaum at least," a passenger could be heard saying.
"Yes. It is nearby," another passenger agreed.
Meanwhile, family members of passengers expressed anger against Fly91 Airlines, alleging a lack of communication and negligence, claiming that no proper updates were provided.
The regional airline maintains that the flight "did not develop any technical snag".
"The flight IC3401 flying from Hyderabad to Hubballi did not develop any technical snag as is being reported in some sections of the media. The flight departed from Hyderabad at 1500 hours. On nearing Hubballi, the flight encountered bad weather due to which the flight was diverted to Bengaluru as per standard protocol. The flight subsequently returned to Hubballi and back to its home base in Hyderabad," the airline said in a statement.
"There was zero compromise to safety. Holding the aircraft over Hubballi and diverting to Bengaluru was part of the standard operating procedure. This is among the best practices adopted by the industry," the statement added.
The airline further said it has highly skilled team of pilots, cabin crew and ground staff which are trained to manage any situation which may come up, underlining that the airline has an "impeccable safety record".
After tense moments and repeated attempts, the aircraft was finally diverted and safely landed at Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru at around 7:30 PM.
