Bad weather forces Deputy CM Shinde’s helicopter to return to Mumbai midway

However, thanks to the pilots timely alertness and presence of mind, the helicopter was successfully diverted and landed safely at Juhu Pawan Hans. No one was injured, and everyone on board, including the Deputy Chief Minister, is safe, the release added.

A helicopter carrying Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde encountered bad weather on Thursday, prompting him to return to Mumbai, an official said. Shinde had taken off from Mahalaxmi Racecourse in south Mumbai at 3.30 pm to Murbad in Thane district to attend a wedding in the family of a party worker in Bapgaon, he said. However, as the helicopter reached Airoli in Navi Mumbai, the pilot saw an approaching storm and alerted Shinde, who decided to go back to Mumbai, the official said. The helicopter subsequently landed at Pawan Hans' Juhu facility. An official release from Shinde's office said, ''Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's helicopter went off its scheduled route this afternoon due to adverse weather. However, thanks to the pilot's timely alertness and presence of mind, the helicopter was successfully diverted and landed safely at Juhu Pawan Hans.'' No one was injured, and everyone on board, including the Deputy Chief Minister, is safe, the release added. Shinde was accompanied by his staff, including personal assistant Prabhakar Kale, special executive officer Balsingh Rajput and media adviser Vinay Patrdukar, the official said. Incidentally, the storm that forced the diversion of Shinde's flight caused caused widespread disruption across the Kalyan-Murbad belt, with strong winds and unseasonal rains leading to reduced visibility, a local official said. ''In some areas, the intensity was high enough to cause minor property damage, including roofs being blown onto high-tension wires,'' the official informed. On January 28, then Maharashtra deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar died in a plane crash along with four others while he was on his way to Baramati in Pune district.