Turbulent times: Tech snags force 3 flights to make emergency landings

In a sign of worry for the country’s aviation sector, as many as three flights made emergency landings after witnessing technological glitches. 

Meanwhile, Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia held a meeting on safety issues with senior officials of his ministry and regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Sunday, sources said.

During the meeting, the minister took a detailed report from the officials about these incidents over the last one month and told them that there should be no compromise over passengers' safety.

In an incident that occurred on July 15, a bird was found in the cockpit of Air India Express' Bahrain-Kochi flight, officials of aviation regulator DGCA said on Sunday. The bird was found in the glove compartment on co-pilot's side when the plane was at an altitude of 37,000 feet, the officials noted. The plane landed safely in Kochi, they said.

In another incident, an Indigo flight from Sharjah to Hyderabad was diverted to Karachi as a precaution on Sunday after pilots observed defect in one of the engines, DGCA officials said on Sunday. "The pilot observed a technical defect. Necessary procedures were followed and as a precaution, the aircraft was diverted to Karachi. An additional flight is being sent to Karachi to fly the passengers to Hyderabad," it added.

In the third incident, a Dubai-bound Air India Express flight was diverted to Muscat on Saturday night after a burning smell was observed in cabin mid-air, officials of the aviation regulator said on Sunday.

The burning smell was coming from one of the vents in the forward galley and pilots, therefore, diverted the plane to Muscat and landed safely, the officials said. The aviation regulator also informed that three flights of International airlines made emergency landings in the last 48 hours. The official informed that these landings were made in Calicut, Chennai and Kolkata on Friday and Saturday.

• A bird was found in the glove compartment of a Bahrain-Kochi flight when the plane was at an altitude of 37,000 feet
• Indigo’s flight to Hyderabad was diverted to Karachi after the pilot observed a defect in one of its engines 
• A Dubai-bound flight was diverted to Muscat after a burning smell was sensed in cabin mid-air
• Besides, DGCA said three international flights made emergency landings at various airports in the country in the last 48 hours