Emergency landing after smoke in SpiceJet flight
A SpiceJet flight made an emergency landing at the Hyderabad airport on Wednesday after smoke was detected in the aircraft’s cockpit and cabin, prompting the aviation regulator to initiate a probe into the latest in the string of safety incidents concerning the domestic carrier, officials said.
A SpiceJet flight made an emergency landing at the Hyderabad airport on Wednesday after smoke was detected in the aircraft’s cockpit and cabin, prompting the aviation regulator to initiate a probe into the latest in the string of safety incidents concerning the domestic carrier, officials said.
All the passengers disembarked safely from the Goa-Hyderabad flight after it landed at around 11pm at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport,airline officials said.
According to officials, oil seepage from one of the engines into the air conditioning system was likely the reason behind the incident. “There was some oil seepage in engine 1,which seems to have got injected into the air conditioning system,” said Arun Kumar, director general of Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). “Investigation is on and suitable action shall be taken.”
Following the incident, a full emergency was declared and all adequate protocols were followed, an airport official said. “The airline pilot contacted the local Air Traffic Control (ATC), which then contacted the ground staff to prepare for the emergency landing after which the aircraft was towed to the remote gate,” the official added.
“SpiceJet Q400 aircraft operating from Goa to Hyderabad landed safely at its destination on October 12 after smoke was observed in the cabin during descent. Passengers were safely disembarked,” SpiceJet spokesperson said.
However, HT learns that a female passenger fell ill due to the smoke and continues to remain under treatment. Airline officials denied any such report, but said that the same female passenger suffered a minor injury allegedly while exiting the plane.
“No passenger was admitted or hospitalized. One of the passengers suffered a minor sprain and was taken to the airport medical room for medical assistance. She was discharged immediately,” a SpiceJet official said.
Around nine flights had to be diverted due to this incident.
A senior aviation ministry official said that DGCA was investigating the incident and keeping a close watch on the airline’s operations.
SpiceJet is facing scrutiny over a string of safety incidents in recent months, which prompted DGCA to impose a cap of 50% on the budget airlines flights’ summer schedule. The aviation regulator imposed the restriction on SpiceJet flights on July 27 for a period of eight weeks after the airline reported frequent air safety incidents.
Last month, the aviation regulator extended the restriction by a month to October 29.
“The review has indicated that there is appreciable reduction in the number of safety incidents. However, as a matter of abundant caution the competent authority has decided that the restriction as imposed in the order dated 27.07.2022 shall continue to be in force till the end of the summer schedule i.e 29.10.2022, in accordance with the powers conferred under rule 19A of the Aircraft Rules, 1937,” said the DGCA order dated September 21.
DGCA also clarified that any increase in the number of departures during this period will be subject to the airline satisfying the regulator that it has sufficient technical support and financial resources to undertake such enhanced capacity safely and efficiently.
“During this period, the airline shall be subject to enhanced surveillance by DGCA,” the order added.