IndiGo Plane Suffers Nose Damage After Encountering Severe Weather
Translated & summarized from Channel 9 by baba
An IndiGo flight from Patna to Lucknow on October 7 sustained nose damage due to severe weather, including hail, upon landing. The aircraft, carrying 104 passengers and six crew, landed safely, and no one was injured. The airline corrected initial reports of a lightning strike, attributing the damage to hail. The plane has been grounded for repairs, and the incident has heightened aviation security concerns in Israel following a recent foiled hijacking attempt.
The story in 6 lines · by baba
- An IndiGo flight from Patna to Lucknow was damaged by hail during its approach on October 7.
- The aircraft landed safely with 104 passengers and six crew members aboard; no injuries were reported.
- The airline corrected initial reports of a lightning strike, confirming hail as the cause of nose cone damage.
- The extent of the damage was not apparent to the pilots until after the plane landed.
- The damaged Airbus A320 has been grounded for technical inspection and repairs.
- The incident occurs amid heightened aviation security awareness in Israel after a recent hijacking attempt.
An IndiGo Airbus A320 flying from Patna to Lucknow on October 7 sustained significant damage to its nose cone after encountering severe weather, including hail, during its approach to landing. The aircraft, carrying 104 passengers and six crew members, landed safely at Lucknow's Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport. Initially, reports suggested the plane was struck by lightning at an altitude of approximately 17,000 feet, but the airline later clarified that the damage was caused by hail. The extent of the damage was not apparent to the pilots during the flight and only became clear after the plane had landed and taxied to its parking stand. The damaged nose cone houses the weather radar. The aircraft has been grounded in Lucknow for necessary technical inspection and repairs, and the Indian Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has been notified. The damaged plane was scheduled to fly to Ahmedabad later that evening, but IndiGo provided a replacement aircraft for the waiting passengers, who departed approximately 82 minutes behind schedule. The airline stated the damaged aircraft will return to service after repairs and necessary approvals. The article also briefly mentions a separate incident on October 5 involving a British Airways flight from London to Chicago that experienced a cabin depressurization, requiring an emergency descent. It notes that such aviation incidents are being perceived with particular sensitivity in Israel following a foiled hijacking attempt on a FlyDubai flight on September 30, where a co-pilot attacked the captain. Defense Minister Israel Katz described that incident as a "jihadist terror attempt" thwarted by the heroism of Israeli passengers.