Air India’s San Francisco-Mumbai flight grounded in Kolkata after engine snag

The Boeing 777-200 LR aircraft developed a snag in its left engine after passengers boarded the flight and the passengers were asked to deplane

Kolkata: An Air India flight from San Francisco to Mumbai had to be grounded at the NSCBI airport in Kolkata in the early hours of Tuesday and passengers had to be deboarded after the aircraft developed engine snag, officials said.

The captain of the plane told the passengers that the decision to ground the aircraft was made in the interest of flight safety. (PTI)

“Flight AI 180, which had arrived from San Francisco at the Kolkata airport around 12:47, was scheduled to leave for Mumbai at 2:00 am. There were 224 passengers on board,” said an airport official.

The Boeing 777-200 LR aircraft, however, developed a snag in its left engine after passengers boarded the flight and was declared Aircraft on Ground (AOG), meaning the aircraft was grounded due to technical problems.

Around 5:20 am, an announcement was made in the aircraft asking all passengers to deplane.

The decision was made in the interest of flight safety, the captain of the plane told the passengers.

The passengers were deboarded and sent to two hotels. All 224 passengers were given breakfast, and, according to their preferences, some were transferred to hotels, while others were accommodated on alternative flights to Mumbai.