Fly91 flight diverted

A Fly91 flight from Hyderabad to Hubballi was diverted to Bengaluru on April 20 after bad weather near Hubballi, and the airline said the aircraft landed safely. (thehindu.com) Airport officials and Fly91 said the flight, IC3401, departed Hyderabad around 3 p.m., could not land at Hubballi because of weather, and diverted to Bengaluru under standard operating procedure. The flight later returned to Hubballi and then flew back to Hyderabad. (thehindu.com) The diversion kept the aircraft airborne for about three to three-and-a-half hours, according to reports from passengers and local officials. The Times of India reported that 22 passengers were on board and all were safe. (timesofindia.indiatimes.com) Some passengers described visible panic in the cabin during the extended holding and diversion. Rediff reported that some people were in tears and praying before the aircraft landed safely. (rediff.com) The airline disputed one key part of the early narrative. Fly91 told The Hindu that the flight “did not develop any technical snag” and said the diversion was “purely weather-related” with “zero compromise to safety.” (thehindu.com) That matters because some early reports framed the incident as both a weather event and a technical problem, while later statements from the airline narrowed the cause to weather near Hubballi. The Indian Express and The Hindu both cited airport officials describing adverse weather as the reason for the diversion. (indianexpress.com; thehindu.com) The episode also landed amid fresh scrutiny of India’s aviation regulator, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation. On April 20, the Central Bureau of Investigation arrested a DGCA official and a Reliance-linked executive in a bribery case tied to drone import applications. (hindustantimes.com) The Indian Express reported that investigators alleged the official sought ₹5 lakh per file for three applications and that searches recovered ₹37 lakh in cash, gold and silver coins, and digital devices. The case is separate from the Fly91 diversion, but it put the regulator back in the headlines on the same day. (indianexpress.com) For passengers on IC3401, the immediate story ended more simply: the flight diverted, landed, and everyone got off safely. The unresolved part is the gap between early accounts of a “technical snag” and the airline’s later insistence that weather alone forced the diversion. (rediff.com; thehindu.com)