Smoke in cockpit, Indigo plane makes priority landing at Ahmedabad airport

Smoke in the cockpit along with an unusual smell forced a Delhi-Ahmedabad IndiGo flight to make a priority landing at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport (SVPI) on the first day of 2019. This is the second such incident reported about an IndiGo flight within a month; another flight had to make an emergency landing at Kolkata earlier.

As soon as the pilot spotted smoke, he reported 'Pan Pan', which is an international radio distress signal, of less urgency than a Mayday signal.

Confirming the same, officials at SVPI airport said, "The pilot of Indigo flight 6E 6373, Airbus 320 with 92 people on board, including one infant and six crew members, on Tuesday morning at 8:19am informed the Ahmedabad Air Traffic Controller that there was smoke in the cockpit and requested an emergency landing which was immediately approved. At the time, the aircraft was at a height of 34,000 feet. However, at 8:32am, the pilot informed that they had carried out all checks and all operations were normal, therefore, emergency landing was not required and only priority landing was approved."

The aircraft safely landed at Ahmedabad at 9:55am. Officials added, "Further, after landing, all checks were carried out on the aircraft by Indigo engineering staff. They have reported all normal. DGCA approval for the next flight of the aircraft is awaited."

Three days ago, a Jodhpur-bound flight with 83 passengers on board had made an emergency landing at the airport in the city after the aircraft witnessed pressurization failure.

Prompt Action

• The pilot of Indigo flight 6E 6373, Airbus 320 with 92 people on board, including one infant and six crew members, spotted smoke.
• He immediately reported ‘Pan Pan’, which is an international radio distress signal, of less urgency than a Mayday signal.