An aircraft headed out of Mumbai returned to the city a few minutes after take-off when the pilot suspected an engine snag. After repairs and technical checks, the same aircraft took off for its onward journey and all passengers were reported to be safe.
The flight, JetKonnect S2-2381 to Indore with 114 passengers on board, was airborne at 5.47 am when the pilot declared an emergency to the ATC at 6.06 am. “The pilot detected a snag in the port (left side) engine when he requested the ATC for an emergency landing. The ATC declared full emergency at 6.20 am with fire engines and rescue crew on standby on the runway,” said a spokesperson from the Chattrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA).
The plane was taken to the isolation bay where engineers from the airline and other officials were waiting to inspect the aircraft. The passengers were also deboarded and asked to wait in the airline’s lobby inside the terminal. The full emergency at the airport was also withdrawn a few minutes later and normal operations resumed. The inspection went on for a few minutes following which the plane, a Boeing 737, took off to Bhopal 4 hours later at 10.40 am.
A statement from the airline said, “The commander of the flight made a normal air turn back to Mumbai following a technical snag. The landing was uneventful and the aircraft took off after rectification of the snag.” Airport and airline sources have termed the incident as normal and precautionary in nature.