Air India plane returns to Hong Kong after technical issue in mid-air
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The incident comes days after an Air India London-bound plane crashed in the western Indian city of Ahmedabad.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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NEW DELHI – An Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner bound for New Delhi returned to its origin of Hong Kong as a precautionary measure on June 16, after a technical issue was suspected mid-air, the latest incident affecting the airline in recent days.
AI315 “returned to Hong Kong shortly after take-off due to a technical issue. The flight landed safely... and is undergoing checks as a matter of abundant precaution”, Air India said.
The incident comes days after an Air India flight to London, using the same type of Boeing aircraft, crashed in western Indian city Ahmedabad
AI315 made a return to Hong Kong International Airport after requesting local standby at around 1pm. It “landed safely at around 1.15pm”, a spokesperson for Airport Authority Hong Kong said. The airport’s operations were not affected.
The plane, which is seven years old, took off from Hong Kong at 12.16pm. It reached an altitude of 22,000 feet and started descending, according to flight tracking website AirNav Radar.
Last week’s crash brings a new challenge for Air India, which has been trying to revamp its fleet, and Boeing, which is bidding to rebuild public trust following a series of safety and production crises. REUTERS
