Gadchiroli: The helicopter carrying Maharashtra’s Deputy Chief Ministers, Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar, as well as Industry Minister Uday Samant, had a close call on Wednesday when it lost direction due to poor visibility brought on by the inclement weather.
Fortunately, the pilot deftly corrected direction and brought the aircraft down without incident.
The group travelled to Gadchiroli to attend the ceremonial laying of the foundation stone for the Rs 10,000 crore Surjagad Ispat integrated steel plant, which is located in the district’s Aheri tehsil.
At the event, Ajit Pawar recounted the events and praised the pilot’s expertise for their safe landing.
“The helicopter properly took off from Nagpur for Gadchiroli. I was quite comfortable after our take-off, watching the clouds. I also told Fadnavis to see them. However, during the journey, the helicopter lost its route due to monsoon clouds. Despite this, Fadnavis was quite calm and was chatting with me. I was getting restless and worried. However, Fadnavis told me not to worry saying that he had met with six accidents earlier and escaped safely. He told me that I will also be safe today,” he said.
Pawar further said, “Uday Samant told me to watch out for the landing site. After looking at it from the window, I heaved a sigh of relief.”
