NEW DELHI, March 11 (Xinhua) -- India's national carrier said Friday that one of its passenger aircraft flying to London went off the radar while flying over Hungary and had to be escorted by Hungarian fighter jets.
The Air India flight AI 171, with 231 passengers and 18 crew members on board, lost contact with the Air Traffic Control due to "frequency fluctuation", a spokesperson for the state-owned carrier told the media.
"The flight, which departed from Sardar Vallabhai International Airport, landed safely at London's Heathrow airport with all passengers and crew safe," the spokesperson added.
This is the second such reported incident of an Indian aircraft losing contact with the Air Traffic Control in the European airspace in a month's time.
In February, a flight of the Indian private carrier Jet Airways -- no 9W-118 from Mumbai to London -- had lost communication with the Germany's ATC on its way to Heathrow airport. German fighter jets escorted the Boeing 777 aircraft and communication was restored eventually.
Dramatic footage of the incident was also posted by Aviation Herald website, showing the Jet Airways flight being escorted by two fighter jets -- vapour trails billowing in their wake.
