Twitter
Advertisement

Air India pilot spots 4 flying objects in city airspace; ATC says will investigate

On January 13, the pilot of a Pawan Hans helicopter had reported seeing six paragliders flying over the JW Mariott hotel in Juhu.

Latest News
article-main
Photograph of the flying objects clicked by a local
FacebookTwitterWhatsappLinkedin

The 'sighting' of paragliders/balloons in Mumbai's airspace continues. Now, an Air India pilot on Friday claimed that he saw four such objects below the plane he was flying near Vasai.

On January 13, the pilot of a Pawan Hans helicopter had reported seeing six paragliders flying over the JW Mariott hotel in Juhu. In another such case, a passenger had tweeted to the Mumbai police that from his window seat in Air India flight AI865 (Delhi-Mumbai), he had seen three white, triangular flying objects about 10 minutes before the plane landed at city airport on January 20.

However, so far, the city police or the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) have claimed that they have not been able to gather any information about the same. Niket Kaushik, IG, ATS did not respond to the calls made by dna.

Friday's incident seems significant in view of the fact that a helium balloon flying at a height of about 25,000 feet in Barmer was shot down by an Air Force fighter jet after it was picked up on a radar on Republic Day. It happened amidst the high alert the entire country was put on after the Pathankot attack and Republic Day celebration.

As per the chronology available with airport authorities, the pilot of flight AI671 was given permission to take off around 9.35am. On reaching 24,000 feet, he told the Air Traffic Controller (ATC) that he has sighted four paragliders or balloons about 10 nautical miles behind from his present location. "The flying objects were red, yellow, blue and green in colour and were at about 8,000 feet," said an airport official.

The ATC asked him to repeat the colours, which he did. It then said that it has not seen any such objects but will investigate.

As per the law, flying objects around airports are not to be allowed. In fact, after the sighting of the paragliders near the JW Mariott hotel, the city police had issued a fresh notification issuing a no-flying order in the city for paragliders, balloons, high-risk crackers, kites, high-release objects, flash beams and laser lights aimed at planes in and around the approach funnel at city airport.

In a separate notification, the police had warned that drones controlled by remote or controlled aerial missiles may be used by anti-social elements for launching terror attacks on the city.

The Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport, which is considered among the busiest airports in the subcontinent, faces a constant terror threat.

Find your daily dose of news & explainers in your WhatsApp. Stay updated, Stay informed-  Follow DNA on WhatsApp.
Advertisement

Live tv

Advertisement
Advertisement