New Delhi: Air India Express flight from Abu Dhabi to Calicut landed back at Abu Dhabi airport, as reported by the news agency ANI. This comes after a flame was detected in one of the engines. According to Air India Express, the aircraft landed safely and all passengers are safe. According to DGCA, 184 passengers were onboard when the flight took off. "Soon after taking off and climbing to 1,000 feet, the pilot detected a flame in one of the engines and decided to go back to Abu Dhabi airport," Air India Express told ANI.
DGCA said that Air India Express B737-800 aircraft returned to the Abu Dhabi airport due to a mid-air flameout. "Today an Air India Express B737-800 aircraft VT-AYC operating flight IX 348 (Abu Dhabi-Calicut) was involved in Airturnback due to the No. 1 engine flameout at 1,000 ft during the climb," DGCA said.
In a statement released by Air India Express It said, flight IX 348, on the Abu Dhabi-Kozhikode route, returned to Abu Dhabi airport following a technical snag in one of the engines. The technical snag was identified while taking off and the aircraft landed back Safely, following all laid down procedures, in Abu Dhabi International Airport with the 184 passengers onboard.
This event has been reported to the regulatory authorities as per protocol, and alternate arrangements are being made for the guests. We regret the inconvenience caused to our guests on board, the statement further read.
Earlier on January 29, an Air India Express flight from Sharjah made an emergency landing at Cochin International Airport in Kerala in the evening, due to a suspected hydraulic failure, reported news agency PTI. A full emergency was declared at the international airport at 8.04 pm as the aircraft prepared to land. The plane landed safely at 8.26 pm, the Cochin International Airport Ltd (CIAL) spokesperson said.
"No runway was blocked and no flight had to be diverted due to the emergency. The emergency was called off at 8.36 pm as normal airport operations resumed," he said. The CIAL also said that all 193 passengers and six crew members onboard flight IX-412 from Sharjah were safe.
In another incident on January 23, an Air India Express flight from Trivandrum to Muscat landed back 45 minutes after taking off due to a technical glitch, officials said. According to officials, the flight management system (FMS) developed a technical glitch. "The flight took off from Trivandrum at 8.30 am and landed back at 9.17 am," they added.
In December 2022, a snake was found on a Dubai-bound Air India Express flight. Air India Express Boeing B-737 flight from Calicut to Dubai took off as scheduled and after landing at Dubai airport, the staff reported a snake on board the aircraft. The aviation regulatory body, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), had ordered a detailed probe regarding the incident, the aviation body said.