SpiceJet windshield cracks mid-air on Kandla-Mumbai Flight, 2nd mishap in a day

Mumbai, July 5: An aircraft of India's low-cost carrier SpiceJet reported a glitch in its Kandla - Mumbai flight on Tuesday.

The flight made an emergency landing in Mumbai after cracks were noticed on the outer windshield of the aircraft mid-air. However, all passengers and crew members are safe, as per the airline.

Issuing a statement, SpiceJet's spokesperson said, "On July 5, 2022, SpiceJet Q400 aircraft was operating SG 3324 (Kandla-Mumbai). During cruise at FL230, P2 side windshield outer pane cracked. Pressurization was observed to be normal. The aircraft landed safely in Mumbai."

This is the second incident involving the airline on Tuesday and at least the seventh incident of technical malfunction happening on the aircraft in the last 17 days.

Earlier in the day, SpiceJet's Delhi-Dubai flight was diverted to Karachi as the fuel indicator started malfunctioning, officials of the aviation regulator DGCA said

The Boeing 737 Max aircraft, which was heading from Delhi to Dubai, started showing unusual fuel quantity reduction from its left tank when it was mid-air, they said. Therefore, the plane was diverted to Karachi, they noted.

When an inspection was done at the Karachi airport, no visual leak was observed from the left tank, they added. An official of Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (PCCA) confirmed that the SpiceJet aircraft has made an emergency landing at the Karachi airport after developing a technical fault after it left New Delhi for Dubai.

"The pilot of flight no SG 11 contacted the control tower while flying over Pakistan airspace and said the aircraft had developed some technical fault. He requested an emergency landing. He was given permission to land on humanitarian grounds," the PCAA official confirmed.

In a statement, SpiceJet said, "On July 5, 2022, SpiceJet B737 aircraft operating flight SG-11 (Delhi-Dubai) was diverted to Karachi due to an indicator light malfunctioning. The aircraft landed safely at Karachi and passengers were safely disembarked."

"No emergency was declared and the aircraft made a normal landing. There was no earlier report of any malfunction with the aircraft," it mentioned. Passengers have been served refreshments, it said, adding that a replacement aircraft is being sent to Karachi that will take the passengers to Dubai.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is investigating the incident, along with the previous incidents, the officials noted.