A major air disaster was averted this morning when an Emirates flight from Dubai to Kochi hit an air pocket over the Bangalore airspace before landing safely at Nedumbasserry International Airport in Kochi. The incident caused injuries to 23 people on board.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation launched an inquiry into the incident that occurred at 10.30 am and grounded the aircraft. The Goa Air Traffic Control was the first to report the incident.
Passengers suffered anxious moments when their aircraft had a free fall of almost 18,500 feet in an air pocket. The plane hit an air pocket during flight, and dropped from a height of 20,000 to 1,500 feet.
Fortunately, the pilot was able to regain control after dropping 18,500 feet and managed to control the plane just in time to land safely at the Kochi airport.
After the plane landed at the airport, a team of doctors examined all the passengers.
The Boeing aircraft EK530, with 350 passengers and 14 crew members on board, encountered a weather cloud near Bangalore over the Chennai-Mumbai FIR (Flight Information Region) and experienced a short period of heavy turbulence, in which it descended 200 feet. The aircraft landed safely, said Majid Al Mualla, senior vice-president (commercial operations - west Asia & Indian Ocean) of the airline.
