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CHENNAI: “MAYDAY! Mayday! Mayday!” cried out the pilot of an Indigo flight 35,000 feet up in the air. Fearing that the Airbus A320 would crash near the city, he sent a distress signal via his radio communication system on a night in the first week of July.
Although he soon withdrew the ‘Mayday’ call, which means ‘come help me’, the alarm, raised only at the time of an extreme emergency, sent a chill down the spine of all those who heard it — pilots of other craft in the vicinity and the Air Traffic Control (ATC) in Chennai. There was a collective sigh of relief only when the pilot sought permission for priority landing.

Sources in the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), which had taken note of the incident and made a report on it, said the call was sent around 9.30 pm and the flight (6E-291) from Kolkata landed in Chennai around 10 pm.

They explained that the aircraft, which was on autopilot mode, had gone through a “temperature inversion”, which led to the transmission of confusing signals. “The air data computer malfunctioned and couldn’t judge the change in air temperature. This caused a failure of engine power. In this case, both engine throttles stopped responding. The pilot was able to regain control of the flight only after it climbed down to 27,000 feet.

He reported that the Pitot system (presssure sensitive instruments) had failed,” a DGCA source in Delhi said

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He reported that the Pitot system (presssure sensitive instruments) had failed,

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“The air data computer malfunctioned and couldn’t judge the change in air temperature. This caused a failure of engine power

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