A SpiceJet flight that was on its way to the Tirupati airport in Andhra Pradesh had to be flown back to the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) at Hyderabad after a mid-air technical snag on Sunday. The flight had to return within an hour after taking off and one of the passengers on board the plane was Andhra Pradesh Director-General of Police R. P. Thakur.
Thakur was travelling to Tirupati to receive Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi, who was visiting the state along with his family to offer prayers at the Lord Venkateswara temple atop Tirumala.
According to media reports, SpiceJet ATR Flight SG-1097 took off at its scheduled time of 8:30 am, but reported a technical glitch in the engine at around 9 am, following which it had to turn back.
After landing it was shifted to the hangar at the airport and alternate arrangements were made for the passengers. The airline said that it was investigating the incident to ascertain the reason behind the technical glitch.
Earlier this year, Over 70 passengers on board an Indigo aircraft from Tirupati had a narrow escape while one of its tyres burst while landing at Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Hyderabad.
As the tyre burst led to sparks, alert personnel of fire-fighting team rushed to the aircraft to prevent any disaster.
YSR Congress Party legislator Roja was among the passengers. The actor turned politician sent few visuals from the aircraft to some television channels. In the video clippings, some passengers were seen having heated argument with crew over the delay in opening the doors.
In March, Indigo Airlines' Raipur-bound plane carrying 112 passengers returned to Hyderabad soon after take-off due to a "technical glitch".
After carrying out the standard operating procedures, the flight crew landed the A320-232 aircraft safely back at Hyderabad and passengers were flown in another aircraft.