DGCA orders inquiry after pieces of metal fell from aircraft at residential society near Delhi Airport

New Delhi, Sep 04: The Directorate General of Civil Aviation on Wednesday ordered an inquiry after metal pieces allegedly fell from an aircraft that was landing at Delhi airport.

Emergency landing was declared at Delhi Airport on Monday evening when crew members detected some fault in the engine and the emergency landing of the flight was made successfully without any injury to the passengers. The matter was also reported to the Delhi police.

A senior DGCA official confirmed that they have ordered a detailed investigation into the matter and the safety inspection of the aircraft has been ordered.

According to Delhi police, Vasant Vihar police station on Monday evening received a PCR call regarding 'Falling of aircraft pieces' at 9.30 pm.

The call was from Anuj Vihar in the Shankar Vihar area, where it was informed that over their flat 'aircraft has passed and metal pieces have fallen from the same'.

On reaching the spot, the caller stated that an aircraft passed over the area and some metal pieces had fallen from the same. They have also informed ATC. The caller produced one small piece of black colour metal to the police personnel.

On further verification done from ATC, it was stated that Air India express flight no. IX 145 had taken off at 2048 hrs for Bahrain. The crew members detected some fault in the engine and the emergency landing of the said flight was made at 9.10 pm successfully without any injury to the passengers. The PCR call was made after landing.

The metal pieces belong to the aircraft or not will be determined by the technical team. The police have informed the concerned authorities for further necessary action into the matter.

"This is yet to be confirmed inspection report of aircraft is pending. Only when the report is submitted will get to know that something is missing from the aircraft," Rohit Meena, DCP (South West).

Responding on the matter, Air India Express Spokesperson said, "An Air India Express flight IX 145 on 2nd September encountered an engine issue after takeoff from Delhi. The failure was managed in accordance with laid-down procedures, and a precautionary landing was conducted at Delhi."

"The matter has been reported to the regulator and other concerned agencies and is currently under investigation. We are aware of reports of metal pieces being found at Shankar Vihar. At this time, we cannot confirm if these metal pieces are from our aircraft. The investigation is ongoing to establish the facts," spokesperson added.