Sushma Swaraj's plane went incommunicado for 14 mins
4 Jun 2018 5:34 AM IST
NEW DELHI: A VIP Embraer aircraft carrying External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj to Mauritius, on her way to South Africa, had gone incommunicado for 14 minutes, triggering a mid-air scare after the Air Traffic Control of the island nation pressed the panic button, an official statement said on Sunday.
The Mauritian ATC could not establish contact with the Indian Air Force flight IFC 31 after it entered that country's airspace on Saturday, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) said in a statement.
But instead of waiting for the mandatory 30 minutes, the Mauritian ATC activated the uncertainty phase, known as INCERFA in aviation parlance, it said.
The Ministry of External Affairs has not commented on the issue so far.
"Mauritius ATC activated the uncertainty phase without allowing the stipulated period of 30 minutes to lapse from the time when the aircraft last contacted ATC. This was possibly done because the flight was carrying a VIP," the AAI said.
The flight had left for Mauritius from Thiruvananthapuram at 2.08 pm. The Male ATC had established contact with the plane at 4.44 pm IST after it entered the airspace of the Maldives from the Indian airspace.
The IFC 31 could not contact the Mauritius ATC after entering the Mauritian airspace, causing panic. However, there was a sigh of relief when the aircraft came in contact with the ATC there at 4.58 pm, the AAI said.
Since the Embraer-135 aircraft, carrying the minister, does not have a long range, it had stopovers at Thiruvananthapuram and Mauritius for refuelling.
Government sources said the crew of the flight followed the laid down procedure to deal with the situation.
Swaraj has arrived in South Africa on a five-day visit during which she will attend the BRICS, and IBSA meets -- the two major groups where India has been playing a significant role. She will also meet the top leadership of the country.
An official conversant with the ATC issues over the Indian Ocean region said that the problem in contacting the flight could have arisen due to weak radar coverage as flights have to rely on VHF communication, which has their own set of issues.
The 14-minute long uncertainty phase (INCERFA) is first of the three emergency phases under International Civil Aviation Organisation's Chicago Convention. The second is "alert phase" (ALERFA) in which apprehension exists as to the safety of an aircraft and its occupants.
The third is "distress phase" (DETRESFA) wherein there is a reasonable certainty that grave and imminent danger threaten an aircraft and its occupants and require immediate assistance.
Luckily, the 14-minute-long scare involving Swaraj's VVIP plane ended with the first stage itself.
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