"Near Death..." Airplane Hit by Hail and Turbulence, Hole in Fuselage 'Bang' [Video]

[Financial News] An accident occurred where a passenger plane carrying over 200 passengers encountered sudden turbulence during flight, resulting in a large hole in the fuselage.

According to local media such as Times of India and NDTV on the 26th (local time), Indigo Airlines domestic flight 6E-2142, which departed from Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi, India, and was heading to Srinagar International Airport, encountered turbulence 45 minutes after takeoff.

The passenger plane, which encountered hail and thunderstorms, shook violently, and the pilot declared an emergency to the Srinagar Air Traffic Control Center (ATC). Fortunately, the passenger plane landed at its original destination, Srinagar International Airport, at around 6:46 PM, and it was reported that there were no injuries among the passengers.

At that time, a total of 227 passengers were on board this passenger plane, and through a video of the interior of the passenger plane released on social networking services (SNS), it can be seen that the plane shook violently with a flash of light. In the dizzying situation, passengers on board were seen crying or praying, falling into chaos.

The airline stated in a statement, "Indigo flight 6E-2142, which was operating from Delhi to Srinagar, was suddenly hit by hail," and "the pilot and crew followed the prescribed procedures, and the passenger plane eventually landed safely at its intended destination, Srinagar."

On SNS, images of the passenger plane with a large hole in the front part of the fuselage were uploaded, and it is presumed that the fuselage was damaged. Although the airline did not disclose the specific extent of the damage, NDTV and others reported that there was damage to the front part of the fuselage due to the impact of turbulence.



Meanwhile, it was reported that five members of a delegation from the All India Trinamool Congress (AITC), a center-left party in India, were also on board this passenger plane. One of them, Sagarika Ghose, told NDTV, "It was like a near-death experience. We barely survived," and "People were screaming, praying, and panicking. I pay tribute to the pilot who brought us safely."



bng@fnnews.com Hee-sun Kim, Reporter