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‘Don't Want To Continue...': Air India Pilot To ATC Before Making Turnaround To Hong Kong
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The audio of the conversation between the pilot of Air India Dreamliner and the ATC has surfaced on social media where the pilots informed that they did not wish to proceed further
The pilots of New Delhi-bound Air India flight that turned back to Hong Kong after nearly 90 minutes of take-off after, didn't want to continue the journey after encountering a suspected technical snag midway.
The audio of the conversation between the pilot of Air India Dreamliner and the Hong Kong Air Traffic Control (ATC) has surfaced on social media where the pilots informed ATC that they did not wish to proceed further and requested clearance to return.
'We don't want to continue further," the pilot could be heard telling ATC.
The pilot requested to stay closer to Hong Kong citing technical reasons before deciding to return.
'Due to technical reason we would like to stay closer to Hong Kong. May be, we will come back and land in Hong Kong once we sort out the problem. We don't want to continue further," the pilot was heard telling the ATC.
Flight AI315, operated by a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, had departed from Hong Kong International Airport for New Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport today morning. The pilots decided to turn back the flight to the point of its origin as a precautionary measure after they suspected a technical issue.
The Hong Kong-Delhi flight in question took off at around 9.30 am (IST) before circling back to the airport within 90 minutes, data from online tracker Fligthradar24 showed.
According to Air India, the decision was made purely for safety reasons after a possible technical snag was detected. 'After taking off, a technical issue was suspected, hence the aircraft returned as a precautionary measure," the airline said in a statement. The aircraft is currently undergoing necessary checks.
The aircraft involved was a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, the same model as the one that crashed in Ahmedabad on June 12, killing 241 of the 242 on board, including Gujarat ex-chief minister Vijay Rupani and over 25 on the ground.
Ever since the fatal crash of Air India flight AI-171, several incidents involving mid-air technical glitches and emergency returns have come to the fore, raising concerns about aircraft safety. From precautionary turnbacks due to suspected malfunctions to bomb threats forcing diversions, the frequency of such occurrences has prompted heightened scrutiny of aviation protocols.
