IndiGo plane returns to Guwahati minutes after take-off owing to snag

GUWAHATI: A Dibrugarh-bound plane of the IndiGo returned to the Guwahati airport on Sunday morning minutes before the scheduled landing at the final destination after the pilot suspected a snag in the engine, officials said.
The flight (6E-2652) with 180 passengers had taken off from Chennai at 5.40am. As per schedule, it halted at the Guwahati airport before departing for Dibrugarh at 8.40am.
Union MoS for petroleum Rameswar Teli and two Assam BJP MLAs - Prasanta Phukan and Terash Gowala, were among the 180 passengers on board the plane. The flight also had several patients who were returning from Chennai after medical treatment, the officials said.
"An unusual vibration was recorded in the engine of the aircraft minutes after taking off from the Guwahati airport. So the pilots decided to return to Guwahati. The ATC here accepted the requested for landing. The aircraft landed safely," a senior official of the Airports Authority of India said. The Guwahati-Dibrugarh flight made a precautionary landing here as the pilot suspected a technical snag in the engine, IndiGo sources said. The plane is being checked for faults at the Guwahati airport, they said.
Alternative arrangements were made for the passengers, they added. The three BJP leaders had several meetings lined up for the day, all of which had to be cancelled as they had to embark on their 440km journey to Dibrugarh by road. Phukan and Gowala travelled in one vehicle, while Union minister Teli travelled separately.