AI flight makes emergency landing in Bhopal after crew suspects smoke

A Kochi-bound Air India flight carrying more than 100 passengers from Delhi was forced to land at Bhopal airport on Tuesday morning after the crew suspected smoke on board.

A Kochi-bound Air India flight carrying more than 100 passengers from Delhi was forced to land at Bhopal airport on Tuesday morning after the crew suspected smoke on board.

The pilots decided to make an emergency landing at Bhopal after smoke detectors in the cockpit indicated smoke in the plane’s cargo hold. (Photo by Pramod Thakur/ Hindustan Times) (Hindustan Times)

However, inspections post the emergency stopover revealed it was a false alarm, airline sources told HT.

According to sources, the pilots decided to make an emergency landing at Bhopal after smoke detectors in the cockpit indicated smoke in the plane’s cargo hold.

While the AI spokesperson did not respond to HT’s calls the airline published an update on its Twitter handle.

False alarms by aircraft smoke detectors are not new. A few years ago a Newark-bound AI flight was forced to turn back to Mumbai owing to a similar smoke warning. Inspections found pungent pickles in a passenger’s checked -in bags could have triggered the scare.