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Munde has a miraculous mid-air escape

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Gopinath Munde and deputy chairman of state planning board Prakash Javdekar today had a miraculous escape when the glass screen of the pilot's cabin in the eight-seater government plane they were flying by, suddenly cracked and caved in.

The mishap took place when the Karad-bound plane was flying over the hilly terrain of Mulshi, about 50 nautical miles away from Bombay. Both Munde and Javdekar were on the way to Satara to inaugurate a water scheme.

The plane took off from Bombay at 1225 hours, and at 1255 hours the left windshield in the pilot's cabin suddenly smashed inward. The head phones and other equipment in the pilot's cabin flew out, Javdekar recalled.

''It was a miraculous escape and we were very lucky,'' both Mundeand Javdekar exclaimed after returning to their homes in Bombay.

Javdekar said the plane was flying at a height of 15,000 feet and within a second, it came down to 3000-4000 feet. The pilots controlled the situation and contacted the Bombay airport after which the plane made an emergency landing.

UNI

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