Jet flight almost got trapped in thundercloud

A Jet Airways flight to Mumbai, with 160 passengers on board, had a close shave when the pilot took off ignoring a Met office warning and almost got trapped in a monstrous thundercloud.
The over-17-km-tall column of cloud bore charged particles, some of more than 1,000 volts, enough to electrocute the plane.
A Jet Airways official claimed that the airline did not have any more information about the incident on April 12.
The flight was scheduled to take off around 6pm, said an airport official. “Around 4.50pm, the gigantic thundercloud was detected over the airport and an alert was sounded.”
The cloud was 750 metres above ground level and was moving from the north-west to the south-east. “The Met office had warned the pilot about the cloud 30 minutes before take-off,” said the official.
The Jet aircraft flew dangerously close to the cloud. “The pilot’s expertise and experience helped him steer the plane past the cloud,” he said. It was “a narrow escape”.
The cumulonimbus cloud was of the type that causes Nor’westers. The air safety wing of the directorate-general of civil aviation (DGCA) has started an inquiry into the incident.
Sources in the directorate said the probe has been undertaken to determine whether the pilot ignored the warning or it was not communicated to him properly.
04/06/07 Sanjay Mandal/The Telegraph

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Categories: Jet Airways Jun 2007, Safety Jun 2007