A Delhi-bound Air India flight (No. 460) returned to the tarmac at the Gannavaram airport shortly after take-off, due to a technical snag on Saturday morning.
The flight, with 116 passengers, took off as per schedule at 9.20 a.m. but came back a short while later but landed safely.
Speaking to The Hindu , Airport Director G. Madhusudan Rao said, “The air traffic control room received a communication from the pilot that there was an ‘abnormality’ in the aircraft and it had to return for a safety check.”
Accordingly, it returned to the airport and was checked by engineers but it had to be grounded for the day.
Bird hit?
However, rumour was making rounds that the aircraft had hit a bird during the flight but there was no official confirmation on the same. Incidentally, the airport had been facing the threat of birds flying along the runway to feed on the waste dumped by some local chicken stalls near the airport despite warnings by officials.
The stranded passengers were flown to Delhi in two evening flights scheduled at 5.45 p.m. and 8.30 p.m. as the plane was declared unfit for flying for the day. It may take a day or two for the flight to be operational after due repair by engineers.
Airport officials took care of the passengers during their stay by providing meals and making other arrangements.
The passengers heaved a sigh of relief that they had been brought back safely and spared of any untoward incident.
Saturday’s was the first incident after Air India launched direct flights to New Delhi on May 1.
