The Directorate General of Civil Aviation ordered an inquiry following reports that metal pieces had fallen from an aeroplane landing at Delhi airport on Wednesday.
Emergency landing was declared at Delhi Airport on Monday evening after crew members detected some fault in the engine. The emergency landing of the flight was made successfully without any injury to the passengers. A senior DGCA official confirmed that they have directed a thorough inquiry into the situation and that the aircraft has been ordered to undergo a safety inspection.
The Delhi police were also informed about the situation. Vasant Vihar police station received a PCR call on Monday night about ‘Falling of aeroplane bits’ at 9.30 pm, according to Delhi police. The PCR call was made after landing.
What had happened?
Anuj Vihar, in the Shankar Vihar area, made the call, informing them that aircraft had passed over their flat and metal pieces had fallen from the same. When the caller arrived at the location, he reported that metal pieces had fallen from an aeroplane that had flown over the area. They have also informed ATC. The caller showed the police officers one small piece of black colour metal.
After additional ATC verification, it was determined that Bahrain-bound Air India Express flight IX 145 had taken off at 2048 hours. The crew members identified an engine issue, and at 9:10 p.m., the aircraft performed a successful emergency landing without any injury to the passengers.
Responding to the matter, Air India Express Spokesperson said, “An Air India Express flight IX 145 on 2nd September encountered an engine issue after takeoff from Delhi. The failure was managed in accordance with laid-down procedures, and a precautionary landing was conducted at Delhi. The matter has been reported to the regulator and other concerned agencies and is currently under investigation. We are aware of reports of metal pieces being found at Shankar Vihar. At this time, we cannot confirm if these metal pieces are from our aircraft. The investigation is ongoing to establish the facts.”
The technical experts will decide whether or not the metal fragments are part of the aircraft. The relevant authorities have been notified by the police so that they can take any additional necessary action in this regard. “This is yet to be confirmed, the inspection report of the aircraft is pending. Only when the report is submitted will get to know that something is missing from the aircraft,” Rohit Meena, DCP (South West).
(with ANI inputs)
