Shimla, Mar 24 (UNI) A major accident was narrowly avoided at Jubbarhatti Airport in Shimla on Monday morning when an Alliance Air ATR aircraft arriving from Delhi had trouble slowing down after landing.
The flight, which had Himachal Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Agnihotri and DGP Dr. Atul Verma on board, had to be stopped using emergency brakes just before the runway ended.
Sources say the plane almost went beyond the runway, causing panic among passengers. Some started crying as the aircraft neared the edge. Even after the plane stopped, passengers were kept inside for 25 minutes, which made them even more anxious.
Before applying the emergency brakes, the airline crew informed passengers about a technical problem. While no one was hurt, the incident left passengers shaken and scared.
The director of Jubbarhatti Airport, KP Singh, confirmed that a technical fault led to the issue. "The aircraft was checked before takeoff from Delhi, and no problem was found at that time. Engineers are now looking into what went wrong," he said.
Shimla Superintendent of Police, Sanjeev Gandhi, said that according to the preliminary report, the accelerator was not working properly, making it difficult for the pilots to slow down the plane after landing.
After the incident, Alliance Air cancelled three flights on this route to conduct safety checks. The ATR-42 aircraft flies daily between Delhi, Shimla, and Dharamshala, making multiple trips in a day.
Jubbarhatti Airport is known to be risky because it has a tabletop runway, which means it is built on a raised area with steep slopes on both sides. If a landing does not happen properly, it can be very dangerous. The short runway and hilly surroundings make it even harder to land, especially in bad weather.
Though this incident did not cause any injuries, it has raised serious concerns about safety at the airport. Officials have assured that a detailed investigation is being carried out to prevent such incidents in the future.
UNI ML ARN