AN AIR INDIA Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner flying from Hong Kong to New Delhi returned to Hong Kong shortly after takeoff on Monday due to a suspected technical issue.
This incident comes days after an Air India flight to London, also a Boeing 787-8, crashed in Ahmedabad just after takeoff, killing 241 of the 242 people on board.
Air India said in a statement on Monday that flight AI315 returned to Hong Kong due to "a technical issue", but did not provide further details.
The airline said the aircraft landed safely and was being inspected "as a matter of abundant precaution".
Recordings on the air traffic control website LiveATC.net, reviewed by Reuters, captured a pilot telling air traffic controllers about 15 minutes after takeoff, “for technical reasons, sir, we would like to stay closer to Hong Kong, maybe we will come back and land back into Hong Kong once we sort out the problem.”
“We don’t want to continue further,” the pilot added before the plane returned.
The aircraft returned to Hong Kong International Airport after requesting a local standby at around 1 p.m. (0500 GMT) and “landed safely at around 1:15 p.m.”, according to a spokesperson for Airport Authority Hong Kong.
The spokesperson said airport operations were not affected.
Flight tracking website AirNav Radar showed that flight AI315 took off from Hong Kong around 12:20 p.m., climbed to 22,000 feet and then began to descend. The plane was seven years old.
Boeing and Air India did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the Hong Kong–New Delhi flight.
Last week’s crash has added to the challenges facing Air India, which has been working to revamp its fleet, and Boeing, which has been trying to regain public trust after a series of safety and production issues.
FILE PHOTO: Nepal's former Chief Justice Sushila Karki looks on during the launch of her autobiography "Nyaya" at a ceremony in Kathmandu, Nepal, September 22, 2018. REUTERS/Stringer