Rahul Gandhi flight scare: DGCA sees issue in autopilot mode

New Delhi, Apr 27 The civil aviation regulator on Friday said the technical glitch created in the flying machine conveying Congress chief Rahul Gandhi and his colleagues was due to a tangle of autopilot mode.

On Thursday, Rahul Gandhi, alongside his four colleagues, was on the way to Hubli in Karnataka in connection with election campaigning, in which they were flying, shivered viciously all through the two-hour adventure and it arrived at the Hubli air terminal simply after two aborted attempts.

The incident was reported to Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) by the administrator, M/s Ligear Aviation.

"As per operator report, it was tangle of autopilot mode and pilot moved to manual mode and the aircraft landed securely. Autopilot failure incidents are normal. For any VIP flight DGCA investigates thoroughly. DGCA has set up a two part board of trustees to examine into the reason for the incident.Report is likely in 2-3 weeks," the DGCA said in an announcement.

The Congress yesterday filed a complaint with the Karnataka police after the occurrence.

Congress part Kaushik Vidyarthee, one of the travelers, whined around a few "unexplained specialized disappointments" amid the two-hour travel.

The complaint alleged that the aircraft was "deliberately subverted".

Supposedly, Rahul's office has demanded that the private aircraft be grounded at Hubli airport until the completion of the investigation.