GoAir pilot sends distresscall to ATC before landing in Kannur airport

The pilot of a GoAir flight sent a 'Pan-Pan' (distress) call seeking an urgent landing to the Air Traffic Control (ATC) before its touchdown at its destination Kannur in Kerala on Tuesday.

The GoAir flight G8-056 Airbus Neo took off from Muscat in Oman and was destined to Kannur.

"The captain of the GoAir flight 056 from Muscat to Kannur yesterday transmitted an urgent call to the ATC as safety or precautionary measure owing to a minor problem while on its descent approach path to Kannur airport," a GoAir spokesperson said in a statement on Wednesday.

However, the call was overruled by the ATC.

"At GoAir, the safety of our passengers and crew is of paramount importance. The airline regrets any inconvenience caused to its passengers." the statement said.

The flight later landed safely with all 135 passengers on board.

Former Defence Pilot and Aviation Expert Vipul Saxena said that a PAN call is given by a pilot to the ATC when he is facing a situation requiring a priority landing at the nearest airfield or destination airfield.

"The situation may be caused due to problem in fuel supply, hydraulic failure/ malfunction, erratic engine parameters, passenger needing first aid/medical aid, violent unruly passenger, any other system /equipment malfunction causing difficulty in flying," Saxena added.