New Delhi, March 31 (IANS). The Delhi-bound Air India Express flight had to make an emergency landing in Lucknow after receiving warning of smoke mid-air. The pilot had also made a pan-pan call to inform about this emergency.
Air India Express flight from Bagdogra to Delhi had to make emergency landing at Lucknow’s Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport after smoke signal was detected on Monday evening.
There were 148 passengers and 6 crew members on board the flight. Smoke was observed in the aircraft’s avionics bay (which houses critical electronic systems), following which the pilot called ‘pan-pan’ instead of ‘med-day’. This call is for a situation that is serious but not immediately life-threatening.
All passengers and crew remained safe and the aircraft landed in Lucknow without incident. The airline said the crew immediately diverted the flight out of caution to ensure the safety of passengers. After landing, the passengers were given refreshments and later boarded other flights to Delhi.
Air India Express confirmed the incident and said the decision to divert was taken as per standard safety procedures. The airline also apologized for the inconvenience caused to passengers.
After landing the aircraft was declared ‘Aircraft on Ground’, i.e. the aircraft has been permanently grounded at Lucknow Airport for inspection and necessary repairs.
Earlier this month, another Air India Express flight faced a technical problem after landing at Phuket International Airport. On March 11, there was a problem with the nose wheel of Hyderabad-Phuket flight IX 938. The airline said that despite the problems with the plane, there was no serious damage.
–IANS
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