The SpiceJet had to be diverted to Karachi due to a malfunctioning indicator light
A SpiceJet aircraft flying from Delhi to Dubai had to be diverted to Karachi today due to a malfunctioning indicator light, a spokesperson from the airline has said. The plane landed in Karachi and the passengers were safely deboarded. No emergency was declared, the airline said. The 138 passengers finally left for Dubai in a replacement flight on Tuesday evening that was sent from India.
"On July 5, 2022, SpiceJet B737 aircraft operating flight SG-11 (Delhi - Dubai) was diverted to Karachi due to an indicator light malfunctioning. The aircraft landed safely at Karachi and passengers were safely disembarked. No emergency was declared and the aircraft made a normal landing. There was no earlier report of any malfunction with the aircraft. Passengers have been served refreshments. A replacement aircraft is being sent to Karachi that will take the passengers to Dubai," the airline's spokesperson has said.
The pilots on board the Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft had indicators of a possible fuel leak from one of tanks in the wings of the jet. According to aviation regulator, Directorate General Of Civil Aviation, ''the crew observed unusual fuel quantity reduction''. In other words, the fuel display in the cockpit appeared to indicate an unexpected loss of fuel from the aircraft. This required the pilot to make a landing in Karachi though this was a precautionary landing, not an emergency one.
The aviation regulator conducted a fleet-wide safety audit of SpiceJet aircraft just last month and continues to carry out inspections on a case by case basis.
The landing in Karachi comes just two days after 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.
The aircraft was at an altitude of 5,000 feet when the crew first noticed the smoke and the smoke alarm was triggered.
The smoke started increasing when the flight reached an altitude of 14,000 feet. The pilot then informed the Air Traffic Control and May Day was declared. Following this, the flight turned back towards Delhi.
On safe landing, all passengers were evacuated.
Earlier, 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.