UP minister’s plane skids off runway

The Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) sources said there was a fault in the landing gear,which led to the incident. No one was injured.

The six-seater chartered flight — VT-UPN — was coming from Lucknow. It landed at the IGI airport on runway 11/27 at 11.30 am. The occupants included two pilots,Shivpal and three others.

Sources said Shivpal had flown down to Delhi to meet the families of the victims of the Masuri riotsthat took place last week. The aircraft is maintained by the Uttar Pradesh government.

Based on preliminary findings,DGCA officials said the landing gear broke off because of which the aircraft landed on the nose wheel. Subsequently,the other gears too malfunctioned,forcing the aircraft to land on its belly. As a result,the aircraft skidded off the runway before coming to a halt.

IGI Airport operator Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) in an official statement said “Around 11.30 am,a private aircraft,VT-UPN,was damaged upon landing on Runway 27 of the IGIA. Emergency services at the airport swung into action and we can confirm that there was no fire or casualties in the incident. The plane had a cockpit crew of two and was carrying three passengers and one cabin crew who are all unharmed. DIAL emergency services are at work to ensure return of services at the earliest. Due to three operational runways,operations at IGIA are unaffected”.

Sources said doctors at the Medanta Medi Center at the airport were called since the occupants were in a state of shock after the landing.

DGCA said an official inquiry into the matter has been ordered.

Compensation for kin of Masuri victims

Shivpal Yadav on Saturday handed over compensation cheques of Rs 5 lakh each to the kin of the six killed in the violence in Masuri,Ghaziabad,last week. Shivpal handed over the cheques during a function organised at Collectorate in Ghaziabad. “We understand that life is precious and the government expresses its condolences to the bereaved families,” Shivpal said. He said Divisional Commissioner,Meerut,was conducting the probe in the incident.