Diverted Delhi-Dubai SpiceJet Aircraft Being Inspected In Karachi; DGCA Orders Probe
Republic accessed the first visuals of the Delhi-Dubai SpiceJet aircraft at Karachi airport after it was diverted post developing a technical fault.
Moments after a SpiceJet SG-11 from Delhi to Dubai was diverted post developing a technical fault, Republic accessed the first visuals of the aircraft at the Karachi airport in Pakistan on Tuesday. According to the Karachi airport officials, the aircraft landed at 08:03 am, 53 minutes after taking off from Delhi at 7:10 am, and has been on-ground for the past four hours.
The officials said that the aircraft has been parked in the designated area where engineers are assessing the problem and it will be permitted for flight only after a clearance report. All passengers on board, over 150 in number, are safe and have been transferred to the transit lounge. Passengers are being looked after in the lounge, the officials further said.
DGCA issues statement; initiates probe
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) in a statement said, “The crew observed unusual fuel quantity reduction from the left tank. It carried out a relevant non-normal checklist, however, fuel quantity kept decreasing. Following this, the aircraft was diverted to Karachi in coordination with Air Traffic Controller.”
“During the post-flight inspection, no visual leak was observed from the left main tank,” the statutory body of the Government of India said. It has initiated a probe into the incident.
SpiceJet sending ‘replacement aircraft’
In a series of Tweets, SpiceJet has said, “On July 5, 2022, SpiceJet B737 aircraft operating flight SG-11 (Delhi – Dubai) was diverted to Karachi due to an indicator light malfunctioning. The aircraft landed safely in Karachi and passengers were safely disembarked.”
“No emergency was declared and the aircraft made a normal landing. There was no earlier report of any malfunction with the aircraft. Passengers have been served refreshments. A replacement aircraft is being sent to Karachi that will take the passengers to Dubai,” it added.
Frequency of ‘safety incidents’ of SpiceJet
In the past month, SpiceJet has witnessed four such incidents. On July 2, a Jabalpur-bound SpiceJet aircraft had to return to the Delhi Airport after the crew noticed smoke in the cabin while crossing 5000ft mid-air. Just a week before that, on June 25, a SpiceJet flying from Patna to Guwahati was forced to return to the bay after the take-off as the fuselage door warning light was illuminated.
On June 19, two incidents were reported — a Delhi-bound flight had to turn back after it caught fire soon after take-off from Patna airport. The airline clarified that a bird hit had damaged their fan blades. Also, a Jabalpur-bound flight had to return to Delhi after issues were observed in Cabin pressure.
