Major disaster averted after 5 paragliders come in airline pathway; insiders say terror angle cannot be ruled out

In an incident which could have turned into a major aviation disaster, five suspected paragliders were seen flying in the flight path of Mumbai airport. This forced air traffic controllers to abort a Jet Airways flight that was about to leave for Ahmedabad on Saturday evening.

The gliders were first seen by the staff of airport operator Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL), who immediately alerted the ATC about it. A formal police complaint has been registered against unknown persons at a local police station.

As per aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) laws, paragliding, hot balloons, drones, sky lanterns, or any other form of flying objects are strictly not allowed near airport premises.

Paragliding paragliding is considered to be a recreational and adventure sport, wherein a pilot sits in a harness suspended below a fabric wing, comprising a large number of interconnected baffled cells.

"It could have turned into a major disaster if the aircraft's take-off would not have been suspended. Scores of people would have died," said an airport source aware about the development in the case.

Airport and aviation industry experts believe that it is very important for investigators to know the identity of the paragliders and why they flew into the flight path.

Insiders have not ruled out the possibility of a terrorist angle. Till the time of going to press, there was no confirmation on the identity of the paragliders.

DGCA sources said it was an incoming Indigo flight which first alerted the ATC about the paragliders crossing the flight path.

A senior police officer on condition of anonymity said: "An incident like this did happen in the evening. We are looking into the matter and are searching for them." Taking into consideration the sensitivity of the matter, the official refused to divulge more details.

An airport source that at 17:58, five small parachutes were seen heading from the Southwest direction of CSIA moving towards Northeast. "Since they were crossing the runway intersection, ATC was advised by Apron Control via telephone to ask pilots on approach and take-off to exercise caution. During this time, Jet Airways flight 9W-326 was asked to go around and another Jet flight 9W-323 was asked to hold position on the runway," he added.