Air India flight returns to Delhi after engine shuts down mid-air

A Mumbai-bound Air India's Boeing 777 flight returned to Delhi on Monday after the right engine shut down mid-air, according to a report by The Times of India. Flight Al 887, which took off at 6.10 am, made an emergency landing at the Delhi airport around 6.52 am.

All the passengers were deboarded safely. A twin-engine aircraft can land safely on one engine. According to the report, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is looking into the engine failure.

The airline is ensuring that the inconvenience caused to passengers after their return is minimised. Air India arranged another B777 (VT-ALP) to take them to their destination, and refreshments were provided at the boarding gate.

Incident follows deadly Dreamliner crash

The incident comes months after one of the deadliest crashes involving the airline, in which all 12 crew members and 230 passengers on board were killed, with only one passenger surviving.

Air India-operated Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, which was a scheduled international passenger flight from Ahmedabad Airport in India to London’s Gatwick Airport in the United Kingdom, crashed just 32 seconds after take-off on June 12.

Air India aircraft flew without airworthiness licence

Earlier this month, the airline drew scrutiny after it reportedly flew an aircraft with an expired airworthiness licence, which is mandatory for all planes to ensure the safety of the passengers.

The airline flew a 164-seat Airbus A320 with an expired airworthiness licence eight times on November 24-25, The Economic Times reported. However, the plane was taken out of service after the issue was highlighted by an engineer.