Delhi-Dubai SpiceJet Flight Diverted After Glitch; Replacement Aircraft Arrives in Karachi

A SpiceJet aircraft travelling to Dubai from Delhi was diverted to Pakistan’s Karachi airport after its indicator light malfunctioned on Tuesday. A replacement aircraft — Boeing 737 Max plane — has landed in Karachi, which will take passengers to Dubai.

SpiceJet spokesperson in a release said the aircraft landed safely in Karachi and the passengers inside were safely disembarked. The release also said the aircraft made a normal landing.

No emergency was declared in the aftermath or during the incident.

There was also no report of malfunction to the aircraft. The aviation company said that refreshments were served to the passengers. The flight was carrying 150 passengers. All passengers were transferred to the transit lounge after the landing.

Engineers were inspecting and trying to find a fix to the issue with the aircraft. The aircraft will be given clearance for flight only after the aircraft engineers issue a clearance report, the civil aviation authority (CAA) of Pakistan said.

“The plane landed in Karachi 0803 am (local time), 53 minutes after being airborne. It has been on-ground for the past four hours. Passengers are being looked after. The plane has been parked in the designated area where engineers are assessing the problem,” Pakistan CAA said.

The DGCA in a statement said that the crew observed an unusual reduction in fuel quantity from the left tank of the Boeing 737 Max aircraft while it was mid-air. It said the crew carried out the relevant non-normal checklist as well after the finding.

“However, fuel quantity kept decreasing. Aircraft diverted to Karachi in coordination with ATC. During post-flight inspection, no visual leak was observed from left main tank,” the DGCA said.

The aviation company over the past few months have recorded three such incidents where their aircrafts developed technical difficulties while they were mid-air.

Earlier on July 2, a SpiceJet flight heading to Jabalpur returned to Delhi after smoke filled up its cabin at around 5,000-feet altitude. The DGCA later said that the smoke was caused due to oil leakage in one of the engines of the Q400 aircraft.

SpiceJet’s Delhi-bound aircraft carrying over 185 passengers caught fire soon after taking off from the Patna airport in June forcing the flight to make an emergency landing.

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