In a mid-air crisis, a drone operated by unidentified persons came to a very close range of two of the Indigo flights soon after their take off from Bengaluru's Kempegowda International Airport on Tuesday (September 26). The pilots were, however, quick enough to alert the Air Traffic Control (ATC) about the drone’s presence in the restricted airspace.
According to a Times of India report, sources from Kempegowda Airport said that the incident took place in afternoon when the first Indigo flight took off from the airport. The pilots spotted a mid-sized drone flying suspiciously close to the aircraft. Following the complaints, the authorities have launched an investigation to identify the operator of the drone flying in the restricted area risking the aircraft's safety.
Soon after, another Indigo plane that took off from the airport also reported about a drone flying dangerously close to the aircraft. The ATC officials then reported the matter to the Air Operations Control Centre for further investigation.
“A probe is under way by the Air Operations Control Centre into the presence of the drone. CCTV footage is being examined to find out what type of device it was, from which direction it was flown and if it had come extremely close to the planes,” a source told the Times of India.
Reportedly, the matter has also been raised with the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) team in-charge of airport security while the airport police are conducting an investigation to track down the operator of the drone.
As per the drone rules laid out by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), drones are restricted to be flown in areas specified as “No Fly Zones,” which includes areas nearby to the airports, International borders, State Secretariat Complexes in state capitals and military installations.
First Published: Sept 29, 2023 3:38 PM IST
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