Plane belonged to the airline's freight unit SpiceXpress. (Representative Image)
A SpiceJet cargo plane flying to China yesterday had to come back to Kolkata for a fix after its weather radar developed a snag, sources said. After repairs, the plane — from the airline's freight unit SpiceXpress — took off again for Chongqing, it is learnt.
For SpiceJet, this was one of three incidents related to malfunctions in a day. None of these was a flight risk or emergency as such, though the pilots took precautionary measures.
Counting these in, the private carrier has seen eight reported incidents of malfunctions in the last three weeks -- none caused serious harm to crew or passengers, though.
In the first reported incident yesterday, a flight from Delhi to Dubai had to make an unscheduled landing at the airport in Karachi, Pakistan, after its fuel indicator malfunctioned and showed rapid depletion. Pilots suspected a fuel leak and opted to make a landing to be safe. The 138 passengers had to wait for nearly 11 hours at Karachi before an alternate flight sent from India took them to the UAE.
Also yesterday, a SpiceJet flight from Kandla (Gujarat) to Mumbai had to make a priority landing at its destination after its outer windshield developed a crack mid-air. A flight is given priority in landing if it can't wait its turn.
The other incidents over the past three weeks — all of which have been brought to the attention of the aviation regulator — include two-door warnings, a bird hit, oil leakage from an engine, and a pressurisation problem.
"We are concerned over passengers' safety. A team has been formed to investigate all the incidents thoroughly and submit the report at the earliest," a senior official of the Directorate General Of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has said.
