Air India Resolves Glitch In Stranded Boeing Plane In Magadan; Aircraft Safely Lands In Mumbai

The grounded B777-200LR aircraft in Magadan, Russia, following the diversion of AI173 DEL-SFO on June 6, has now departed GDX and is en route to Mumbai (BOM).

Air India rectifies glitch in Boeing plane stranded in Magadan; aircraft lands in Mumbai (Representational Image)

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Air India’s Boeing aircraft that was grounded in Magadan in far east Russia landed in Mumbai on Saturday evening, news agency PTI reported. According to the airline, the plane took off from Magadan earlier in the day after engineers repaired an oil system defect in one of the engines. On June 6, AI 173, a Boeing 777-200LR flight from Delhi to San Francisco carrying 216 passengers and 16 crew members, was diverted to the port city of Magadan in far east Russia due to a mid-air glitch in one of the engines.

All were stranded in the port city for two days before being ferried to San Francisco on June 8.

According to an Air India spokesperson, the B777-200LR aircraft, registered VT-ALH, that was grounded in Magadan, Russia (GDX) following the diversion of AI173 DEL-SFO on June 6, has departed GDX and is on its way to Mumbai. 

"We can confirm that our engineering team that flew on a ferry flight to GDX on June 7 corrected a defect in the oil system of one of the aircraft's engines. Before taking off from GDX today, the aircraft was checked on all safety parameters and certified serviceable," a spokesperson said in a statement.

The aircraft landed at Mumbai airport around 8.16 pm, according to the spokesperson later that evening. News agency PTI reported citing sources, the aircraft was carrying two pilots and eight cabin crew.

The airline sent four engineers on the ferry flight to Magadan on June 7, and the issue with oil pressure in one of the stranded aircraft's engines was resolved.

Air India, which is currently owned by Tata Group, a domestically founded corporation specialising in the production of salt and steel, has made public its decision to compensate all customers who have experienced "prolonged delays." The compensation package includes a full refund of the fare as well as a voucher for future travel.