This is the 7th safety-related concern in SpiceJet in less than 3 weeks, say sources (Representational)
A SpiceJet aircraft, flying from Kandla in Gujarat, made a priority landing in Mumbai after its outer windshield developed a crack mid-air, said the airline. This is the second incident in the day involving a SpiceJet plane.
Officials said the Kandla-Mumbai flight of SpiceJet was at 23,000 feet altitude when the windshield's outer pane cracked.
All passenger and crew members are safe, the airline said in a statement.
"During cruise at FL230, P2 side windshield outerpane cracked. Associated non normal checklist actions were carried out. Pressurization was observed to be normal. Priority landing was carried out and aircraft landed safely at BOM (Bombay)," the airline said in a statement.
Aviation sources have told NDTV that this is the seventh safety-related concern in SpiceJet in less than three weeks. The other incidents, all of which have been brought to the attention of the regulator, including two door warnings, a bird hit, oil leakage from an engine, a pressurisation problem in addition to today's malfunction.
The aviation regulator, Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) conducted a fleet-wide safety audit of SpiceJet aircraft just last month and continues to carry out inspections on a case-by-case basis.
Earlier today, a SpiceJet plane flying from Delhi to Dubai had to be diverted to Karachi due to a malfunctioning indicator light. The 138 passengers flew out of Karachi in a separate plane that was sent from India on Tuesday evening.
Just two days ago, the pilot of a SpiceJet Q400 airliner flying from Delhi to Jabalpur made a 'May Day' distress call and returned to Delhi after smoke was detected in the cabin.
On June 19, a Delhi-bound SpiceJet aircraft, with 185 passengers on board, made an emergency landing in Patna right after take-off as its left engine caught fire following a bird hit.