After plane carrying Congress President Rahul Gandhi from Delhi to Hubballi (Karnataka) developed a technical snag, Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a phone call to Gandhi to enquire about the incident, as per media reports.

As per NDTV news report, the first call received by Rahul Gandhi regarding the incident was from PM Modi.

Gandhi was on his way to Karnataka for a two-day visit as part of the last leg of campaigning for upcoming Assembly elections. He is scheduled to hold rallies in the districts of Uttara Kannada, Dahskina Kannada, Kodagu and Mysuru.

The plane suddenly tilted heavily on the left side and the altitude dipped steeply with violent shuddering of the aircraft body at 10.45 am, Gandhi’s close aide Kaushal Vidyarthee wrote in a letter to state DGP Neelmani N Raju.

The letter said the weather was normal and not windy.

“Yes, we have received a complaint about some unexplained turbulence of the aircraft,” Renuka Sukumar, DCP (Law and Order), Hubbali-Dharwad Police told PTI.

She said, “We have registered a complaint under Section 287 (negligent conduct with respect to machinery) and 336 (act endangering life or personal safety of others) of the IPC.”

The complaint that names the two pilots was filed by KPCC General Secretary Shakir Sanadi, she said.

According to the letter, there were a total of three other passengers in the aircraft besides Gandhi and the complainant Vidyarthee – Rampreet, Rahul Ravi and Special Protection Group officer Rahul Gautam.

Alleging the aircraft’s auto-pilot mode was not functional and the aircraft could be landed only after two unsuccessful tries as it was “shaking and making unusual audible sounds”, the letter pointed to a possible “intentional tampering” with the aircraft’s functioning.

No complaint from pilot: Airport official

However, airport official have said that no complaint has been received from the pilot of an aircraft which reportedly developed a snag when Congress President Rahul Gandhi was flying in it on Thursday.

“Neither the pilot nor the air traffic control (ATC) complained to me about the snag,” Hubballi airport Director Ahilya S Kakodikar told reporters here.

The director of the airport, which is managed by the state-run Airports Authority of India (AAI), also stressed that the aircraft had a safe landing.

“It was a safe landing. In case of any abnormalities, the ATC would have recorded it,” she said.

The complaint, addressed to the state’s Director General Neelamani N. Raju, requested the state police chief to “ground” the aircraft at Hubballi and investigate the malfunction.

Based on the complaint by Congress official Shakir Sanadi, the police in Hubballi lodged a First Information Report late on Thursday.

DGCA’s response

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has said, “The operator has reported the incident to us (DGCA). According to the operator’s report, it was a snag of auto pilot mode and the pilot shifted to the manual (mode) and (the aircraft) landed safely.”

“Shutdown of auto pilot (mode) incidents are not uncommon. For any VIP flight, the DGCA examines it in detail. We shall do that here also,” the official saidm while adding that a probe will be launched into the incident.