A SpiceJet flight from Jeddah to Kozhikode made an emergency landing in Kochi on Friday evening after problems with the critical hydraulics systems were noticed by the crew, airport and airline officials said, confirming that the aircraft landed safely.
The Boeing 737 aircraft had on board 197 passengers and crew and was diverted to Kochi when the pilots received cockpit warnings of a potential problem with the hydraulics. The hydraulics controls heavy duty systems such as landing gears, brakes and cargo doors.
“During flight, a caution light illuminated. The pilots decided to divert to Cochin [airport] where low passes were carried out to verify whether the landing gear lever was down and locked,” an airline spokesperson said.
“Post confirmation from ATC of landing gear extension, the aircraft safely landed at Cochin and passengers were deboarded normally” the spokesperson concluded.
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A Cochin airport official added: “Full emergency was declared at 6.29pm and the flight landed safely at 7.20pm.”
{{/usCountry}}A Cochin airport official added: “Full emergency was declared at 6.29pm and the flight landed safely at 7.20pm.”
{{/usCountry}}The airline spokesperson added that the pilots were informed by the Jeddah air traffic control that tyre pieces were found on the runway after it took off.
In late October, SpiceJet was allowed to resume services without any restrictions from November. A series of air safety incidents over the summer had put the airline under scrutiny, with the aviation regulator being told to cap departures to 50% of the number for which they had approvals.
Between May 1 and July 6, at least nine SpiceJet flights witnessed “incidents” -- these ranged from cracked windscreens to malfunctioning instruments. Many of these forced the planes to return to departure airports or make an emergency landing somewhere in between.