Go First Flight Windshield Cracks Mid-Air, Diverted To Jaipur

New Delhi: The windshield of a Delhi-Guwahati Go First aircraft cracked mid-air and the plane had to be diverted to Jaipur, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) officials said.

Too many such incidents in the recent past

• July 19: Mumbai-Leh Go First flight had to be diverted to Delhi due to a fault in one of its engines.
• July 19: Srinagar-Delhi Go First flight had to return to Srinagar following an engine snag.
• July 2: A SpiceJet flight heading to Jabalpur returned to Delhi after the crew members observed smoke in the cabin at around 5,000 feet altitude.
• June 24 & 25: Fuselage door warnings lit up on two separate SpiceJet planes while taking off, forcing them to abandon their journeys and return.
• June 19: An engine on SpiceJet’s Delhi-bound aircraft carrying 185 passengers caught fire soon after take-off from Patna airport and the plane made an emergency landing minutes later. The engine malfunctioned because of a bird hit.
• July 17: IndiGo’s Sharjah-Hyderabad flight was diverted to Karachi as a precautionary measure after pilots observed a defect in one of the engines.
• July 6, the DGCA issued a show-cause notice to SpiceJet following at least nine incidents of technical malfunction in its aircraft since June 19.

Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia held one-on-one meetings with chiefs of Indian carriers on Monday, asking them to ramp up safety oversight.

The DGCA has now mandated that all flights need to be released by certified staff having an AME Category B1/B2 license and is currently investigating all incidents of technical malfunction.