An issue with one of the engines forced an Air India plane bound for Maharashtra’s Mumbai to return to Delhi on Monday morning after being airborne for about an hour.
The plane made an air turn back as during flap retraction after take-off, the flight crew observed low engine oil pressure on the right hand engine, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said.
The aircraft, a Boeing 777, was reportedly carrying around 355 people.
“The crew operating flight AI887 from Delhi to Mumbai on 22 December decided to return to Delhi shortly after take-off due to a technical issue as per standard operating procedure,” an Air India spokesperson said in a statement, without detailing what the technical issue was.
‘Engine oil pressure drops to zero’
The DGCA issued a statement on the incident and said the Air India aircraft was “involved in Airturnback as during flap retraction after take-off, the flight crew observed low engine oil pressure on Engine No. 2 (Right-Hand engine).”
Shortly thereafter, the engine oil pressure dropped to zero, DGCA said and added that crew shutdown the No.2 engine following the procedure and aircraft landed safely at Delhi.
Inspection and rectification was in progress, the aviation regulator said.
The incident would be investigated by the Permanent investigation board of the Airline under the supervision of Director Air Safety(NR), DGCA, it said.
What Air India said
The passengers and crew disembarked the aircraft after it landed safely at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGI), as per the airline spokesperson, which “regretted the inconvenience caused due to this unforeseen situation”.
“The aircraft is undergoing the necessary checks. Our ground team at Delhi is providing immediate assistance to the passengers and alternative arrangements have been made to fly them to their destination shortly. At Air India, the safety and wellbeing of our passengers and crew remain top priority,” the Air India spokesperson said.
Civil aviation ministry takes note of incident
The Ministry of Civil Aviation also said in an X post that it has taken note of the Air India flight AI-887 incident involving a technical issue shortly after take-off.
The Ministry has sought a detailed report from Air India, and DGCA has been directed to conduct a thorough investigation, the X post read.
The airline has been directed to extend all assistance to passengers and accommodate them on subsequent flights, the civil aviation ministry said.
To this, Air India responded, “We fully empathise with the passengers who were inconvenienced following the precautionary air-return of AI887 to Delhi.”
Air India informed that an alternative aircraft was arranged to operate a replacement flight, which later departed with all passengers. “Our teams on the ground assisted all passengers while they awaited the departure, with refreshments provided to all. Senior Air India representatives personally met with the passengers on ground and were available to provide any required assistance,” Air India said, responding to civil aviation ministry’s post.
We commit to fully cooperating with the investigation and regret the inconvenience caused to our passengers, the airline added.
