Mumbai:Captain Jalaj Vats, who with co-pilot CL Meena effected a successful blind landing in Jaipur on Sunday, helped avert another major disaster moments after he crashlanded the Air India flight 890.
Vats told Mumbai Mirror he heard a Spicejet pilot seeking permission to land at Jaipur, where visibility was zero, but was not getting any response from the Air Traffic Control at Jaipur's Sanganer airport.
Still in a state of shock from the crashlanding, Vats had the presence of mind to get on the common communication channel and alert the Spicejet pilot that his Air India flight was still stuck on the runway and recommended a goaround to the Spicejet flight.
DGCA officials said the Spicejet flight, which was like Vats's AI flight diverted to Jaipur due to low visibility in Delhi, then returned to the national capital, where it declared a fuel emergency and landed despite poor visibility. Spicejet officials were unavailable for comment.
"It happened within minutes," Vats, a Delhi resident, told Mumbai Mirror. "There was a sudden drop in visibility as we approached Jaipur for landing, which was cleared by the ATC. Low on fuel, we had no time to think. I knew we had to either land (like we did) in what we knew was the designated airport or end up crashlanding in afield."
Read news in full 08/01/14 Aditya Anand/Mumbai Mirror
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