Terrifying moment when plane aborts landing and lurches around as it tries to land in high winds before airport closes
This is the terrifying moment a plane was thrown into the air by strong winds as it aborted its landing at an airport in India.
Disturbing footage showed the Airbus A320neo landing at the Chennai International Airport during a cyclone on a wet and cloudy morning last week.
The IndiGo Airlines flight swerved before making contact with the ground, and was suddenly picked up at an angle before turning around for a second attempt.
Shortly after the filmed incident on Saturday, the airport was closed due to strong crosswinds and heavy rain caused by Cyclone Fengal.
The airport reopened on Sunday morning, although cancellations and delays were reported, leaving thousands of passengers stranded.
The plane attempted to land on the runway in Chennai but was blown off course by the wind
The plane jerked when the pilot decided to attempt the landing again
Video showed the IndiGo Airlines flight landing in stormy weather on Saturday, landing diagonally on the waterlogged runway.
The quick-thinking pilot decided to try again and abruptly took off for a go-around.
The Airbus landed on the second attempt, but the airport was closed until 4 a.m. the next day due to harsh weather conditions.
Flight 6E-683 was en route from Mumbai, India to Chennai.
The airport reopened on Sunday morning, although cancellations and delays were reported, leaving thousands of passengers stranded.
Airport authorities have issued an operational suspension notice advising passengers to check the status of their flights.
Official sources said as many as 10,000 people could be affected by the cancellations.
In the afternoon, Indigo Airlines canceled all their flights to and from Chennai.
They informed affected passengers to request a refund.
IndiGo Airlines said in a statement, “Due to adverse weather conditions including rain and strong gusts of wind, the flight crew of Flight 6E683, operating between Mumbai and Chennai, conducted a go-around on November 30 in accordance with established safety protocols.
‘This is a standard and safe maneuver and our pilots are extensively trained to handle such situations with the utmost professionalism.
The plane had tried to land during a cyclone on Saturday but had to reconsider the decision
The pilot made a quick decision and diverted, only to approach again
‘A go-around is carried out if a safe landing cannot be achieved, as was the case with this flight.
“We would like to reaffirm our commitment to the safety of our passengers, aircraft and crew.”
The Airports Authority of India said: ‘The crosswinds prevailed from 300 to 1 km above the ground, and airlines expressed concern about operating flights in such high crosswinds.
‘The wind speed was measured at 35 knots.
“Because wind speeds above 25 knots are risky for conducting flights, operations have been suspended.”