NEW DELHI: The aviation regulator on Thursday lifted its grounding order for the two Vistara pilots who landed a Mumbai-Delhi flight in Lucknow after declaring a fuel ‘May Day’ this Monday. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) gathered facts of the case and a preliminary probe has found that the crew of this Airbus A320 (VT-TNH) was trying to find an airport to land — after bad weather in Delhi and then Lucknow — made it difficult to do so at the first attempt.
After being diverted from the diversion airport of Lucknow, the crew wanted to land at nearest airport Kanpur but could not head there due to enroute bad weather and then decided to head to Allahabad after declaring a fuel May Day. Luckily for all the 160 people on board, Lucknow visibility improved and the A320, which was closer to UP’s capital than Allahabad, decided to return to land there.
