Pilot averted head-on collision, I sustained a back injury: Mamata

Kolkata: Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, on Monday, claimed at the state Assembly that a major accident was averted as another aircraft had come in front of her plane two days ago, and it was the prompt action of the pilot that prevented a head-on collision.

She reiterated that there was no problem with the weather conditions but another flight had suddenly come in the way of the flight so the rapid climb down was initiated.

"A major accident was averted due to the expertise of the pilot. A delay of 10 more seconds would have been disastrous," Banerjee said.

She added that she sustained a back injury which was caused by the steep climb-down of the flight that the pilot was compelled to initiate because of another flight coming in the way.

The state government on Saturday had sought a report from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Banerjee's aircraft encountering mid-air turbulence while returning from Varanasi on Friday afternoon.

The Home department has also written to the Airports Authority of India (AAI) on the same issue to initiate a thorough probe.

According to sources, the state government wants to know from the DGCA whether the route taken by the plane in which Banerjee, Trinamool Congress chairperson returned to the city from Varanasi after campaigning for the Samajwadi Party on Friday, had been granted prior permission.

The state government is concerned because the weather condition was good on Friday and there was no forecast of any rain or storm. But still, the flight faced such turbulence, as a result of which the pilot rapidly descended a height of approximately 8000 feet. So there was a great jerk and disturbance inside the flight.

"We conduct investigations in all such cases and accord priorities where VVIPs are involved. We have already started working on preparing our report in this connection," a DGCA official said.

Banerjee was on board a Dassault Falcon 2000, which is a 10.3-tonne lightweight plane with a capacity of carrying a maximum of 19 people, including two flight attendants. The chartered flight carrying Banerjee from Varanasi airport to the city hit an air pocket causing the plane to rock violently.

The pilot managed to steer the plane out of the air pocket and land it safely in Netaji Subhas Chandra International Airport , Kolkata.

TMC had demanded a high-level probe into the incident. The party's mouthpiece Jago Bangla's editorial on Saturday also flagged the issue.