Nagpur: Trainee pilot lands on airport taxiway after losing contact with ATC
According to media reports, the pilot of the Diamond-40 aircraft was not aware of the air traffic at the time of landing. However, an official statement is yet awaited.
A woman trainee pilot of Rae Bareli-based Indira Gandhi National Aviation Academy (IGRUA) reportedly lost contact with Nagpur's air traffic control (ATC) on Tuesday. According to Time of India, she landed the plane on a taxiway 1.3 km from the runway of Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar International Airport after losing contact with the ATC.
The media reports stated that the pilot had taken off from Gondia in a Diamond-40 aircraft for Nagpur before landing the plane for the second time in Raipur. She was flying the plane alone.
After it was detected on ATC radar, a search team sent from Nagpur airport conducted a nearby search and tracked it to the taxiway at MIHAN SEZ, which serves as a towway facility for the aircraft maintenance and overhaul depot. Later, the incident was informed to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).
Meanwhile, it is prohibited to land a plane on the cross visible on the taxiway to avoid any untoward incident. However, when the pilot asked permission from ATC to land the plane, she was given a path to land at the right place and asked if she could see the runway. But, during the conversation, the woman pilot lost contact with ATC during landing. When she saw the taxiway, she landed the plane there itself because it was too late to change course and take off towards the runway.
(With PTI inputs)