KOLKATA: Passengers travelling on an IndiGo flight from Kolkata to Imphal via Agartala had a major scare when the aircraft got caught in crosswinds during the landing sequence on Saturday afternoon. As the plane approached the runway sideways and wobbly with the nose turned downwards instead of up, passengers suffered bouts of panic and one took severely ill requiring medical assistance.The pilots finally managed to pull the aircraft out of the deadly winds, abort landing and retreat to the safety of relatively calm skies. The flight returned to Agartala after hovering over the Manipur capital, and then went back to Kolkata in the evening. Another IndiGo flight from Kolkata could not land at Imphal and was diverted to Guwahati.Recounting the horror on a bright and sunny afternoon, one of the 175 passengers said the plane began to get tossed about shortly after the pilot announced that the flight would land soon. A seasoned traveller who had been in many an air pocket thought it was just the effect of the plane changing altitude. But with the tossing and turning getting more pronounced, she soon realised the situation was grave.“The plane swayed to the left and then right. It dipped and then steadied only to dive again. Even as the runway was in sight, the nose of the plane was turned downwards. It seemed imminent that we would crash. I don’t know how the pilots managed to pull out of the situation, but it is a miracle that we are alive,” the passenger said.Passenger Nancy Falam — a music student travelling from Bengaluru — had a nervous breakdown and took ill. Several others complained of feeling dizzy and breathless following the stomach-churning experience. The plane hovered over Imphal for around half an hour as the crew waited for the conditions to improve. But when the stiff 28km/h crosswind refused to abate, the captain decided to return to Agartala.“A decision was taken to cancel the flight as the condition at Imphal was rather precarious,” a source explained.A veteran pilot said experiences like these turn people phobic about air travel. “Being on a roller coaster at a ride park can be scary. Imagine the same happening on a flight. It is absolutely nerve-racking,” he said.When the flight finally landed in Kolkata around 6pm, five-and-a-half hours after it had taken off, most were relieved the ordeal was over. Others, though, were angry the airline had not even bothered for refreshments as the travel time got stretched. Under pressure from a section of passengers, the airline arranged for the stay at a hotel and rebooked the passengers on Sunday’s flights.

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