Aviation scare: Nine mid-air incidents since July 5 in Indian skies, raises aircraft safety concerns

Indian airlines have been going through a turbulent phase as aircraft have reported several glitches in the recent past. There have been as many as nine mid-air incidents between July 5 and July 21 which has raised concerns. IANS lists the incidents which have raised concerns among the fliers about the safety of air travel:

July 21: In an incident of technical malfunctioning, an Air India Dubai-Cochin flight was diverted to Mumbai where it landed safely after the captain reported pressurisation loss. The incident was reported on the Boeing 787 flight No. AI- 934. The DGCA intervened and the flight was grounded and the flight crew was off the roster.

July 20: A Go First flight heading from Delhi to Guwahati was diverted to Jaipur after the A320neo plane`s windshield cracked mid-air. It was the third incident of a technical glitch on a Go First aircraft in two days.

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July 19: In two separate cases, Go First flights were diverted to Delhi and Srinagar due to technical glitches in the engines. Go First A320 aircraft VT-WGA flight No. G8-386 from Mumbai to Leh was diverted to Delhi, while its A320 aircraft VT-WJG flight No. G8-6202 from Srinagar to Delhi was turned back to Srinagar due to EGT over-limit in the engine. The first plane was diverted to Delhi due to an EIU (Engine Interface Unit) fault in engine No. 2.

July 17: An IndiGo flight from Sharjah to Hyderabad was diverted to Karachi after a technical snag was detected in the aircraft. The IndiGo flight No. 6E-1406, operating from Sharjah to Hyderabad, was diverted to Karachi after the pilot observed a technical defect. Necessary procedures were followed and as a precaution, the aircraft was diverted to Karachi.

July 16: An Air India Express aircraft from Calicut to Dubai was diverted to Muscat after a burning smell was observed from one of the vents in the forward galley of the flight. A senior DGCA official confirmed that the Air India Express B737-800 aircraft VT-AXX operating flight IX-355 (Calicut-Dubai) was diverted to Muscat, as during the cruise, a burning smell came from one of the vents in the forward galley.

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July 15: A bird was found in the cockpit of the Air India Express Bahrain-Kochi flight. The bird was found in the glove compartment on the co-pilot`s side when the plane was at an altitude of 37,000 feet. The plane landed safely in Kochi. Officials said that prima facie, it looked like there was a ground handling lapse at a foreign station.

July 14: IndiGo’s Delhi-Vadodara flight was diverted to Jaipur out of precaution as vibrations were observed in the engines of the aircraft.

July 5: A SpiceJet flight from Delhi to Dubai was diverted to Karachi after an indicator light of the airplane malfunctioned. The Boeing 737 Max aircraft that was heading from Delhi to Dubai started showing unusual fuel quantity reduction from its left tank when it was mid-air. Following this, the plane was diverted to Karachi.

(With inputs from IANS)

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