Overview
- Flight 6E6497 with 181 passengers and six crew diverted Wednesday night after rough weather near Patna and landed safely in Lucknow with no injuries.
- The pilots tried to land in Patna several times before deciding it was unsafe to continue the approach.
- A planned diversion to Varanasi did not proceed because clearance was unavailable, so the aircraft rerouted to Lucknow.
- Captain Rajiv Pratap Rudy, a Member of Parliament and trained pilot, addressed the cabin to calm passengers after landing, and three people chose to deboard.
- After refueling and weather checks, the flight left Lucknow for Patna around 12:30 am in a standard diversion process that depends on air traffic control at alternate airports.