Bangkok-bound Air India flight 'held back' at Mumbai airport for over 5 hours
Agencies A Bangkok-bound Air India flight from the city was held back for over five hours on June 25, after some hay was found stuck in one of the aircraft's wings, the airline has said. This was immediately attended to, and the aircraft was subsequently cleared for operation, Air India said in a statement.
The Tata Group-run airline did not share other key details such as the number of passengers and crew on board, the type of aircraft, the scheduled time of departure and for how long the passengers remained stranded at the Mumbai airport.
However, according to flight tracking website flightradar24.com, the flight AI 2354, operated by an Airbus A320Neo plane, was scheduled to depart from Mumbai at 7.45 am. However, it departed after a delay of over five hours -- around 1 pm. "AI2354 scheduled to operate from Mumbai to Bangkok on 25 June 2025 was held back as some hay was found stuck below the left wing of the operating aircraft," Air India said in a statement on Friday. This was immediately attended to, and the aircraft was subsequently cleared for operation, the airline said, adding that the source of the hay (getting below the wing)could not be identified. It also said as the flight crew came under the regulatory flight duty time limitations, the flight could not depart immediately.
The service provider handling the aircraft at Mumbai airport has been instructed to investigate the matter, which has been duly reported to the safety regulator, Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), Air India said in the statement. The passengers were disembarked and served refreshments, and the flight departed as soon as a fresh set of flight crew reported, the airline added. The incident came days after the DGCA detected multiple violations related to airlines, airports, aircraft maintenance works, and repeated defects in multiple cases during its surveillance at major airports, an exercise carried out in less than two weeks after the June 12 Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad. Without disclosing names of the airlines, airports and other entities in relation to the defects, the regulator had on Tuesday said surveillance covered multiple critical areas such as flight operations, airworthiness, ramp safety, Air Traffic Control (ATC), Communication, Navigation and Surveillance (CNS) systems, and pre-flight medical evaluations.
The surveillance was done last week and the DGCA is stepping up efforts to strength the overall safety oversight of the aviation ecosystem. PTI
(Join our ETNRI WhatsApp channel for all the latest updates) Elevate your knowledge and leadership skills at a cost cheaper than your daily tea. Profits plenty, prices attractive, still PSU stocks languish. Why?
Why Sebi must give up veto power over market infra institutions
Oil, war, and the Hormuz gambit: Why the 2025 standoff won't mirror the 2022 shock!
Second only to L&T, but controversies may weaken this infra powerhouse's growth story
Stock Radar: Titan Company bounces back after testing 200-DMA in June; breaks out from 1-month consolidation – what should investors do?
Long- or medium-term investing: Invest in ability & balance sheet; 6 large-caps from different sectors, with upside potential of up to 36%
Weekly Top Picks: These stocks scored 10 on 10 on Stock Reports Plus
These large- and mid-cap stocks can give more than 23% return in 1 year, according to analysts
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
India Gazette
an hour ago
- India Gazette
From crash site to decoding lab: India handling AI-171 probe entirely in the country
By Naveen Kapoor New Delhi [India], June 27 (ANI): The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) Lab in New Delhi, is currently working intensively to examine data retrieved from the black boxes of Air India Flight AI-171, which crashed in Ahmedabad earlier this month. According to the Ministry of Civil Aviation, the Crash Protection Module (CPM) from the front black box was safely retrieved, and on June 25, 2025, the memory module was successfully accessed and its data downloaded at the AAIB Lab. Sources familiar with the process told ANI that an identical black box, referred to as a 'golden chassis,' was used to confirm whether data could be accurately recovered from the black boxes. One black box was recovered from the rooftop of a building at the crash site on June 13, and the other from the debris on June 16. The investigation is being led by AAIB officials and includes technical members from the Indian Air Force, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) from the United States, which is the official investigative agency of the country of the aircraft's design and manufacture. The Director General of AAIB is heading the probe. An aviation medicine expert and an Air Traffic Control officer have also been included in the investigation team. Sources confirmed that the NTSB team is currently stationed in Delhi and working closely with Indian authorities at the AAIB Lab. Officials from Boeing and GE are also present in the national capital to assist with the technical process. India, as a signatory to the ICAO Chicago Convention of 1944, is following all international rules and procedures as per ICAO Annex 13 and the Aircraft (Investigation of Accidents and Incidents) Rules, 2017. The investigation is being conducted in a fully transparent and time-bound manner, in line with global norms. Before the crash of Air India Flight AI-171, AAIB used to send black boxes of damaged aircraft and, in some cases, even helicopters to overseas decoding centres in countries like the UK, USA, France, Italy, Canada, and Russia. Indian labs earlier lacked the equipment and dedicated facility to retrieve black box data from serious aviation accidents. That has now changed, and the AAIB Lab in Delhi is fully equipped to decode both Cockpit Voice Recorders (CVR) and Flight Data Recorders (FDR) within the country. A source told ANI that although AAIB was formed in 2012 to investigate major aviation accidents, it remained under-equipped and limited in its functioning until 2017. It was only after the Central Government, under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Aatmanirbhar Bharat initiative, pushed for the development of home-grown technology in defence, aviation, and other strategic sectors that AAIB began to receive advanced tools and technical upgrades. As a result, India is now decoding black boxes of a major air crash within the country for the first time. In earlier crashes, black box decoding was mostly done abroad. In the 1996 Charkhi Dadri crash, black boxes were decoded by IAC in Moscow and the CVR in Farnborough, UK. In the 2010 Mangalore crash, recorders were repaired and decoded by the NTSB in the US. In the 2015 Delhi crash, decoding was done at the engineering lab of Canada's Transportation Safety Board. In the 2020 Kozhikode crash, the CVR and FDR were downloaded at DGCA's flight recorder facility, but the data was processed with help from the NTSB. Such dependence often led to concerns about delays and the credibility of investigations. But now, with the AI-171 crash investigation being carried out entirely in India, supported by international cooperation and equipped with advanced tools, this marks a major milestone in India's aviation safety journey. Officials believe this will lead to faster, more transparent investigations and strengthen public trust in India's ability to handle major air accidents independently. (ANI)
Economic Times
7 hours ago
- Economic Times
Bangkok-bound Air India flight 'held back' at Mumbai airport for over 5 hours
Agencies A Bangkok-bound Air India flight from the city was held back for over five hours on June 25, after some hay was found stuck in one of the aircraft's wings, the airline has said. This was immediately attended to, and the aircraft was subsequently cleared for operation, Air India said in a statement. The Tata Group-run airline did not share other key details such as the number of passengers and crew on board, the type of aircraft, the scheduled time of departure and for how long the passengers remained stranded at the Mumbai airport. However, according to flight tracking website the flight AI 2354, operated by an Airbus A320Neo plane, was scheduled to depart from Mumbai at 7.45 am. However, it departed after a delay of over five hours -- around 1 pm. "AI2354 scheduled to operate from Mumbai to Bangkok on 25 June 2025 was held back as some hay was found stuck below the left wing of the operating aircraft," Air India said in a statement on Friday. This was immediately attended to, and the aircraft was subsequently cleared for operation, the airline said, adding that the source of the hay (getting below the wing)could not be identified. It also said as the flight crew came under the regulatory flight duty time limitations, the flight could not depart immediately. The service provider handling the aircraft at Mumbai airport has been instructed to investigate the matter, which has been duly reported to the safety regulator, Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), Air India said in the statement. The passengers were disembarked and served refreshments, and the flight departed as soon as a fresh set of flight crew reported, the airline added. The incident came days after the DGCA detected multiple violations related to airlines, airports, aircraft maintenance works, and repeated defects in multiple cases during its surveillance at major airports, an exercise carried out in less than two weeks after the June 12 Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad. Without disclosing names of the airlines, airports and other entities in relation to the defects, the regulator had on Tuesday said surveillance covered multiple critical areas such as flight operations, airworthiness, ramp safety, Air Traffic Control (ATC), Communication, Navigation and Surveillance (CNS) systems, and pre-flight medical evaluations. The surveillance was done last week and the DGCA is stepping up efforts to strength the overall safety oversight of the aviation ecosystem. PTI (Join our ETNRI WhatsApp channel for all the latest updates) Elevate your knowledge and leadership skills at a cost cheaper than your daily tea. Profits plenty, prices attractive, still PSU stocks languish. Why? Why Sebi must give up veto power over market infra institutions Oil, war, and the Hormuz gambit: Why the 2025 standoff won't mirror the 2022 shock! Second only to L&T, but controversies may weaken this infra powerhouse's growth story Stock Radar: Titan Company bounces back after testing 200-DMA in June; breaks out from 1-month consolidation – what should investors do? Long- or medium-term investing: Invest in ability & balance sheet; 6 large-caps from different sectors, with upside potential of up to 36% Weekly Top Picks: These stocks scored 10 on 10 on Stock Reports Plus These large- and mid-cap stocks can give more than 23% return in 1 year, according to analysts
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
8 hours ago
- Business Standard
Hay found in aircraft wing delays Bangkok-bound Air India flight by 5 hours
An Air India flight bound for Bangkok was delayed by more than five hours at Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport after ground personnel discovered hay stuck beneath one of the aircraft's wings, according to a report by PTI. The incident took place on June 25. Flight AI 2354, operated using an Airbus A320Neo, was scheduled to depart at 7:45 am but only took off at around 1:00 pm after the foreign object was removed and the plane was cleared for takeoff. The airline confirmed the presence of hay beneath the left wing but said the source of the debris remained unidentified. 'This was immediately attended to, and the aircraft was subsequently cleared for operation,' Air India was quoted as saying. Crew change adds to delay of aircraft Due to the crew reaching their regulatory duty time limits, a fresh set of personnel had to be arranged before the flight could depart. Under civil aviation rules, flight crew must not exceed a specified number of duty hours to ensure operational safety. Passengers, who had already boarded, were disembarked and provided with refreshments during the delay. Details such as the number of passengers on board or the exact duration for which they remained at the airport were not disclosed by the airline. DGCA heightens security after Ahmedabad plane crash The handling agency responsible for the aircraft at Mumbai airport has been directed to carry out an investigation into the incident, which has also been reported to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). This comes as India's aviation regulator has heightened scrutiny on airlines following the June 12 Ahmedabad plane crash. In a report released prior to the incident, the DGCA had flagged safety lapses. The findings, along with the plane crash, have led to increased pressure on all airlines. Air India has recently cut back on international and domestic flights and has also heightened safety checks, leading to delays and cancellations of several flights over the last week.
