Kolkata: Two days after her chartered flight experienced mid-air turbulence, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said Monday another aircraft had come in front of her plane. She informed that it was the prompt action of the pilot that averted a head-on collision. Mamata Banerjee also stated that the plane did not fall into any air pocket, rebuffing reports that had claimed otherwise.
The Bengal government had Saturday sought a report from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). It did so after Banerjee’s aircraft encountered turbulence, leaving her back and chest injured. The West Bengal government also sought to know from the DGCA if approval was accorded for the route taken by Banerjee’s chartered flight. She was returning from Uttar Pradesh after winding up her campaign for the Samajwadi Party.
“Another plane, all of a sudden, came in front of my aircraft. If the situation had continued for 10 more seconds, there would have been a head-on collision. It was due to the efficiency of the pilot that I survived. The plane climbed down 6,000 feet. I suffered injuries on my back and chest. I still have pain,” Banerjee told reporters in the Assembly.
Friday evening, a chartered flight carrying Banerjee from Varanasi to the city faced turbulence, causing the plane to rock violently. The pilot managed to land the aircraft safely at Netaji Subhas Chandra International Airport here. However, Banerjee suffered injuries caused by the steep climb-down the flight had to make to cope with the turbulence.
The CM 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.
Sources at the airport however, said that the pilot did not report of any other aircraft coming in its path. On the other hand he said that it was the turbulence which forced him to bring the aircraft down steeply.