The Congress complained on Thursday that a plane carrying party chief Rahul Gandhi to Karnataka was intentionally tampered with. It has demanded an investigation into the matter.

Gandhi was on his way to Karnataka in connection with the last leg of campaigning for the upcoming Assembly elections.

In a letter written to Karnataka DGP Neelamani N. Raju, party leader Kaushal Vidyarthi said the special plane flying from New Delhi to Hubli had Rahul Gandhi and four more people on board, including himself. He alleged that the plane developed “unexplained technical failures” during the flight.

“At around 10.45 am aircraft suddenly tilted heavily on the left side and the altitude dipped steeply, combined with violent shuddering of the aircraft body. To be noted that weather outside was sunny, normal and not windy as per forecast,” Vidyarthee said in the complaint.

He added: “A clanking noise was clearly audible from one side of the plane throughout the shuddering of the aircraft body.”

Complaint to the DG&IG of Police, Karnataka, regarding the serious malfunction of the aircraft carrying Congress President @RahulGandhi pic.twitter.com/P3RJwkWOMR

— Congress (@INCIndia) April 26, 2018

Vidyarthee also said the occupants also learnt autopilot was not functioning.

“Plane landed at Hubli at around 11.25 am while continuously shaking and making unusual audible sounds. Crew was petrified and admitted that flight was particularly frightening and uncommon,” he said.

The other three occupants named in the complaint were Rampreet, Rahul Ravi and SPG officer Rahul Gautam. The flight took off from Delhi at 9.20 am.

“Apparent from the suspicious and faulty performance of aircraft that the incidents of shuddering and altitude dropping were not natural or weather relate but due to technical snag of aircraft. Serious questions related to intentional tampering cannot be brushed aside,” said Vidyarthee.

According to media reports, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) issued a clarification later in the day and said there was a snag in autopilot and such incidents were “not uncommon”.

In New Delhi, Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala demanded a thorough investigation into the matter that he described a “serious case of aviation mechanics failure”.

“Today Congress President Rahul Gandhi and other passengers were travelling by special flight from Delhi to Hubli. At about 10.45 am, the auto-pilot was lost off the flight. The flight tilted on one side and took a nosedive.

“For a few minutes, this special flight was off-the-radar. There was a lot of shuddering, although the weather outside was normal and sunny. On the third attempt, the flight finally landed at Hubli,” he said.

“It was then informed that the auto-pilot had failed, also the radars of the flight had partially failed.”

Surjewala also pointed out that usually when an SPG protectee is travelling, the complete details of the pilotsand the aircraft are submitted to the DGCA and the SPG.

“Only when all of these are cleared, then the flight plan is okayed. This is a serious case of aviation mechanics failure.

(With agency inputs)