Scary! Video captures panic inside turbulence-hit Spicejet’s Mumbai-Durgapur flight, DGCA orders probe

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has initiated a multidisciplinary probe into the turbulence incident on Sunday’s SpiceJet’s Mumbai-Durgapur flight, the aviation regulator said on Monday. According to reports, fifteen people, including 12 passengers and three cabin crew members, were injured in the severe turbulence. The aircraft took off from Mumbai and was approaching Kazi Nazrul Islam Airport in Durgapur after a two-hour flight when it ran into turbulence. It landed safely at 7.15 PM.

SpiceJet said the seat belt sign was on inside the aircraft, while crew members made multiple announcements asking passengers to remain seated. “The seat belt sign was on when the aircraft encountered turbulence. Multiple announcements were made by the pilots and the crew instructing passengers to remain seated and keep their seat belt fastened,” a SpiceJet spokesperson told Press Trust of India.

The Indian Express reported that passengers aboard the 189-seater Boeing 737-800 aircraft flew into a panic and cabin baggage fell on them, causing injuries, including on the head.

A video of the chaos that ensued following the turbulence has also surfaced on social media. The clip shows things spread on the floor, while passengers tried to make sense of what was happening. FE Online has not independently verified the clip.

Eight of those hospitalised have already been discharged. The airline is providing all possible help to the injured, the spokesperson said. The Indian Express report, citing Airports Authority of India sources, said the aircraft took off with 188 passengers.

Speaking to Press Trust of India, DGCA chief Arun Kumar said: “We have deputed a multidisciplinary team to carry out a regulatory investigation.” The aviation safety regulator recently barred 90 SpiceJet pilots from flying Boeing’s 737 MAX planes after finding that they had trained for the aircraft at a simulator facility where routine surveillance unearthed faults in equipment.

The Airports Authority is also expected to conduct a probe into how the flight was caught in the storm.