Plane hits building, passengers safe

The four passengers also included two foreigners who were flying to Kullu-Manali from Delhi. While the plane suffered a minor damage, all seven persons on board were reported to be safe. Teams of Bureau of Civil Aviation (Security) and senior officials of Jagson Airlines are reaching here tomorrow to look into the cause of the accident.

Senior Superintendent of Police, Shimla, A. N. Sharma who visited the airport soon after getting information about the incident told The Indian Express that the plane although had a smooth landing at 8.14 am, somehow slipped from the parking place and moved towards the terminal building at a speed of 15 km per hour. It hit against the pavement and stopped abruptly. The passengers remained unhurt.

The pilot, Captain Devgan told the police that after landing and turning to the right, he tried to apply the hydraulic brakes. However, the plane instead of stopping at the parking place gained speed and went out of control, Sharma informed. Besides the pilot, co-pilot, Priya Suresh and Shashi Sharma (air hostess) were also on board. The passengers, travelling in the plane included a newly wed foreign couple Defrenf and Vekbeke.

Officials of Jagson Airlines did not give any official reaction. Senior police officials say the plane could have crashed or caught fire, if it had accelerated beyond 30 to 40 km per hour.

Jagson Airlines has been operating its regular flights between Delhi-Shimla-Bhuntar. Before taking off for Bhuntar, Shimla-bound passengers are dropped at Jubbarhatti and passengers flying to Kullu are picked up.

Inquiries reveal that there was no passengers for Shimla in today’s flight and few Kullu-bound passengers were to be taken on board. Since the plane was grounded, the Shimla-Kullu flight had to be cancelled.

Two years ago, the Kullu-bound flight of Archana Airways had crashed in the Panarsa Valley of Mandi district, bordering Kullu. Six passengers, including some foreigners had died in the crash. Earlier to this, Himachal Governor Surendra Nath, his wife, son (an IAS officer of HP cadre) and some other family members had also died in an aircrash near Sundernagar. Both the tragedies had taken place because of fog and poor visibility.

While only a detailed inquiry into today’s accident could pin-point the the actual cause of accident, a human error or slippery conditions at the airstrip could be the reasons. SSP, Shimla says the local police have made a reference of today’s accident in the daily diary. Other details would be known after the investigating teams and aviation experts reach Shimla. The plane has not been moved from its position yet.