New Delhi: The DGCA has set up a two-member panel to look into the technical snag that was experienced by a private jet flying Congress president Rahul Gandhi from Delhi to Hubballi. The decision was taken as Gandhi's aides claimed the plane experienced severe turbulence and could land only on the third attempt. The party has filed a police complaint in Karnataka and sought a investigation into the snags alleging possible tampering.

Gandhi was flying a luxury business jet, Falcon 2000 (VT-AVH), belonging to Ligear Aviation. "The operator has reported the incident to DGCA. As per the operator's report, it was a snag in the plane's autopilot mode. The pilot shifted to manual mode and the aircraft landed safely. Autopilot failures are not uncommon," a senior DGCA official said, adding, "DGCA investigates any issue with all flights, including those incidents of planes flying VVIP, thoroughly. Accordingly, we have set up a two-member committee. Its report is likely in two to three weeks."

The DGCA's next course of action will be decided by the panel's report. Aviation insiders say top politicians use private business jets of companies they "trust". Most of these big companies have charter firms whose planes are then ‘hired' by political parties.