Express News Service
NEW DELHI: Following allegation by the Congress that the snag developed in the flight carrying Rahul Gandhi may be a case of intentional tampering, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has said it will probe the matter that was observed in the plane on Thursday morning.
The DGCA has claimed that it conducts proper inspection in the case of any VVIP plane. Officials said that such type of incident on the plane running on autopilot mode is not uncommon. Preliminary enquiry has suggested that the snag was related to the autopilot on the aircraft shutting down.
“It was technical snag of autopilot mode and pilot shifted to manual mode and landed safely. As per protocol, the DGCA would examine the incident in detail since it took place on a VIP flight,” said the official.
The Congress has cried foul over the incident that took place on Thursday morning when party president Rahul Gandhi was flying from New Delhi to Hubli in Karnataka. Rahul was flying on a Falcon 2000, which was registered as VT- AVH. The plane belongs to Religare Aviation limited. Congress also wrote to the Karnataka Director General of Police demanding enquiry into the matter.
The Congress party, in its complaint, has said, "The aircraft on a special flight (VT-AVH) from New Delhi to Hubli suffered serious malfunction and tilted heavily to one side during the course of the flight."
Officials said that the two pilots who were flying the aircraft are likely to be questioned during the detailed probe into the technical snag observed on Gandhi's flight.
