IndiGo flight to Patna faces ‘DJ laser light’ disruption during landing phase; flyers land safe

Indian low-cost carrier (LCC), IndiGo's flight from Pune, Maharashtra, to Patna, Bihar, witnessed a laser light disruption during its final landing approach at the Jayprakash Narayan International Airport, reported the news portal the Times of India on Sunday, April 20. 

According to the news report, the 6e-653 flight from Pune to Patna was in its final approach to the landing runway and was descending to touchdown at the Patna airport at nearly 6:40 p.m.

The flight's final approach was reportedly disrupted by a DJ laser light, which temporarily disrupted the pilot's vision and the aircraft's stability. However, the pilot conducted a quick response to the incident and regained control of the aircraft to ensure a safe landing at the airport.

As per the reports, the aircraft departed for its next leg of the journey after the Patna airport incident on Thursday, April 17, in the evening. 

Strict Action

The reports also mention that the airport officials have urged local police to take strict action against the individuals using the laser beams near the airport premises.

Airport police, along with Phulwarisharif police forces, reached the spot soon after the incident and started an investigation to identify the source of the laser light.

“It does not happen every day. Now that the wedding season has started, such incidents occur. There are marriage halls on Gola Road and the surrounding areas. During weddings, they use DJ lights, which cause inconvenience to the pilots,” the officials told the news portal. 

As per the Air Traffic Control official's statement, the pilots of the IndiGo 6e-653 aircraft were momentarily blinded by the laser light, which raised alarms related to the danger of such actions.

“The pilot knows from which area it came. We are trying to search for it,” said Santosh Kumar, the Station House Officer (SHO) of the airport police station. Kumar also said that his team of police officers had been deployed in the direction of the light, in search of the source. However, they have not been able to identify it, according to the news portal's report.