Aircraft carrying Himachal deputy CM Agnihotri, DGP misses runway at Shimla's Jubbarhatti airport

An aircraft carrying over 30 passengers, including Deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Agnihotri and Director General of Police Atul Verma from Delhi to Shimla, missed the landing spot at Jubbarhatti Airport Monday morning.

According to eyewitnesses, the aircraft crossed the runway and hit the studs on the edge of the airstrip.

The flight had taken off from Delhi after routine checks and engineers are inspecting the aircraft to determine if there was a technical glitch, airport authorities said.

"The runway is small and we cannot deny this fact. As a layman, I can say that while landing, the plane did not touch the ground where it was supposed to and came to the end of the airstrip," Agnihotri said.

The aircraft did not veer off the runway, preventing what could have been a serious disaster. However, the impact of the abrupt landing caused one of the plane’s tyres to burst.

In the wake of the incident, the authorities decided to cancel the next scheduled flight to Dharamshala as a precautionary measure.

The reason behind the aircraft’s partial-runway landing remains unclear, and technical teams are currently investigating possible mechanical faults.

Further details are awaited as aviation officials continue their probe into the incident.

With PTI inputs