An Air India flight travelling from Hong Kong to Delhi made a U-turn this morning after the pilot reported a suspected technical issue mid-flight. The Boeling 787-8 set off at 12.16pm and had been in the air for mere moments before returning and landing in Hong Kong just an hour later.
Flight tracking data showed the pilot turning Flight AI315 around less than 30 minutes into the flight. Speaking to Sky News, an Air India spokesperson explained that the airline hasn’t yet established if there was a technical issue but the pilot suspected something.
He added: “We are providing all necessary on-ground assistance to the passengers to minimise the inconvenience caused by this unforeseen disruption.” The aircraft is now undergoing checks to verify the issue.
It comes just days after an Air India plane bound for London Gatwick crashed and killed all but one of the 242 passengers onboard. After departing Ahmadabad Airport in Gujarat, India, the flight came down moments after taking off on Thursday afternoon.
The incident is believed to have claimed the lives of 169 Indian nationals, 52 Brits, seven Portuguese nationals and one Canadian passenger. The only survivor was British national Vishwashkumar Ramesh, who told local news that he saw the aircraft crew and passengers die around him but managed to flee when the plane suddenly split in two and threw him out.
Mr Ramesh, who suffered only minor injuries, was sat in seat 11A of the flight and later said “has no idea how he survived” one of India’s most lethal aviation tragedies. On Friday, India’s aviation regulator ordered extra safety checks on Air India’s Boeing 787-8 and 787-9 fleet.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said the move was a “preventive measure” following Thursday’s incident, which also injured residents of the densely populated Meghani area where the plane came down.
One of the aircraft’s two black boxes was recovered on the same day, marking “an important step forward in the investigation” into the tragedy, India’s Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu said.
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