New Delhi: A Jabalpur-bound SpiceJet flight had to make an emergency landing at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi on Saturday morning after the crew noticed smoke in the cabin.
The aircraft was flying at an altitude of 5,000 feet when the crew witnessed the smoke, a news agency reported.
Q400 aircraft SG-2962 was operating between Delhi and Jabalpur.
“While passing 5000ft, the crew noticed smoke in the cabin after which the pilots decided to return to Delhi,” a SpiceJet official said.
He further said that the aircraft landed safely in Delhi, following which passengers disembarked.
The aircraft landed safely in Delhi few minutes after 7 am and all passengers were evacuated on the taxiway, he said.
“On July 2, 2022, SpiceJet Q400 aircraft was operating SG-2962 (Delhi-Jabalpur). While passing 5000ft, the crew noticed smoke in the cabin. The pilots decided to return back to Delhi. Aircraft landed safely at Delhi and passengers were safely disembarked,” a SpiceJet spokesperson said in a statement.
Meanwhile, the Delhi Fire Service was also alerted before the aircraft made the emergency landing.
“We received a call about emergency landing at 7.00 a.m. after which five fire tenders were immediately pressed into service as a precautionary measure,” a fire department official said.
The official confirmed that the aircraft landed safely and the engines returned by 7.25 a.m.
This is the fifth air safety incident involving a SpiceJet aircraft in the last two months.
On June 19, two SpiceJet incidents were reported — one involving a bird hit on a Boeing 737-operated Patna-Delhi flight, in which the pilots had to make an emergency landing at Patna airport.
Another Bombardier Q400 Dash 8 plane from Delhi to Jabalpur was forced to make an emergency landing in Delhi after cabin pressure in the plane did not build up in line with the altitude gain.
Prior to this, on May 4, a SpiceJet-operated Boeing 737 MAX plane from Chennai to Durgapur made an air turn-back after one of its engines had to be shut down mid-air as a result of an oil filter warning. At least 40 passengers sustained injuries in the incident.
Just days before this incident, a SpiceJet Boeing 737 aircraft from Mumbai to Durgapur flew into severe turbulence shortly before landing which led to several passengers being severely injured.