Uttarakhand: Pantnagar-Pithoragarh Flight Makes Emergency Landing; Passengers Report Door Opening Mid-Air

The Pantnagar-Pithoragarh flight had to make an emergency landing at Pantnagar airport on Saturday (9 February) afternoon after door of the aircraft opened mid-air causing panic among the passengers, reports Times of India.

While the officials claimed that it was due to a technical snag that the nine-seater plane had to land just five minutes after take-off, the passengers told that the door of the aircraft suddenly burst open mid-flight and air started gushing in.

“All of us were so panic stricken that we didn’t know what to do. There were two children onboard who started crying profusely,” said Lokesh Bora a passenger adding that he had taken many flights before but never faced such a situation.

Pantnagar airport director SK Singh confirmed the emergency landing incident, adding, “We are looking into the matter. Meanwhile, all flights between 10 and 12 February have been cancelled.” He however denied the reports of aircraft door opening mid-flight.

Since its inauguration on 17 January, the Kumaon-Garhwal flight services have courted controversies due to frequent cancellations, mostly due to technical snags.