Mumbai: A private aircraft carrying Eknath Khadse, the leader of opposition in the Assembly, and five others made an emergency landing at the Pune airport on Friday after smoke from the engine filled the cabin, sparking a mid-air scare.
The five-seater aircraft was travelling from Jalgaon to Pune when the pilot reported a glitch at about 3 pm. Though there were no visible flames, the pilot noticed thick smoke coming from the engine. Khadse’s daughter, Rani, and Pune BJP leaders Vikas Mathkari and Shrikant Bharatiya were among others on board.
“We received an emergency call from the pilot and positioned fire engines (near the runway). The aircraft landed safely at 3.30 pm,” said an official from the Pune Air Traffic Control (ATC).
The plane took off from Jalgaon around 2.35 pm, and the pilot realised something was wrong about 25 minutes into the flight.
29/12/12 Mumbai Mirror
