Mumbai: A SpiceJet flight to Delhi was forced to return to Pune after a technical glitch on Monday. The pilots decided to turn back after the flap transit light got illuminated and officials confirmed that the aircraft landed under full emergency conditions.
The pilots decided to turn back when the flight had completed nearly half the journey to Delhi. Passengers and crew deboarded the aircraft after it landed. The plane is now being checked.
“SpiceJet Boeing 737 aircraft, bearing registration VT-SLG was midway diverted back to Pune airport due to a technical glitch. The flight landed back under full emergency conditions after an hour of its take off for Delhi,” the airline said.
Passengers were certainly not pleased with the happenings. Flight SG937 had departed after a delay of 40 minutes from its scheduled takeoff time of 6 am from Pune airport, and was to land in Delhi at 8.10 am, as per flight tracking website flightradar24.com.
“SpiceJet flight SG 937 on September 1, operating from Pune to Delhi, returned to Pune shortly after take-off. Following take-off, the flap transit light illuminated, and the operating crew carried out all necessary checks in accordance with standard operating procedures,” the airline further said.
The flap transit light illuminates when either the leading edge (LE) or trailing edge (TE) flaps are in motion during extension or retraction, or when they are not in a programmed position. The light indicates that the high-lift devices are moving and provides information about their status.
As a precautionary measure, SpiceJet said, the pilots decided to return to Pune.
“The aircraft landed safely and passengers deplaned normally. Affected passengers are being accommodated on alternate flights or offered full refunds,” it added.
The incident comes a day after an Indore-bound Air India flight returned to Delhi on Sunday, after the right engine fire indicator went on. The pilots shut down the engine and landed the aircraft under full emergency conditions.
