SpiceJet reports radar issue with freighter aircraft, 3rd incident in last 24 hours
2 min read 06 Jul 2022, 01:25 PM ISTSpiceJet reported 8th technical incident in last 18 days as its freighter aircraft returned to Kolkata on Tuesday due to its unserviceable weather radar
PremiumSpiceJet reported a incident with its freighter aircraft, which was heading to Chongqing in China, returned to Kolkata on Tuesday as the pilots realised after take off that its weather radar was not working. It is important to note that this is the third incident in the last 24 hours and at least the eighth incident of technical malfunction happening on SpiceJet aircraft just within the last 18 days.
SpiceJet on Tuesday reported that its Delhi-Dubai flight was diverted to Karachi in the wake of a malfunctioning fuel indicator and its Kandla-Mumbai flight did priority landing in Maharashtra's capital city after cracks developed on its windshield mid-air.
SpiceJet spokesperson told PTI on Wednesday, "on July 5, 2022, SpiceJet Boeing 737 freighter was scheduled to operate from Kolkata to Chongqing. After take-off, the weather radar was not showing the weather. The PIC (pilot-in-command) decided to return to Kolkata. The aircraft landed safely at Kolkata."
On July 5, SpiceJet SG-11 flight from Delhi to Dubai made an emergency landing in Karachi in Pakistan after developing a technical fault. SpiceJet B737 aircraft operating flight SG-11 (Delhi-Dubai) was diverted to Karachi due to an indicator light malfunctioning. The aircraft landed safely in Karachi and passengers were safely disembarked, ANI quoted SpiceJet Spokesperson. He further added that no emergency was declared & aircraft made a normal landing. There was no earlier report of any malfunction with the aircraft. Passengers have been served refreshments. “A replacement aircraft is being sent to Karachi that will take the passengers to Dubai," the spokesperson said.
Meanwhile, the shares of SpiceJet continued to fall on Wednesday, declining 7 per cent to hit its one-year low level, amid multiple instances of its planes suffering technical glitches in recent weeks. The scrip tanked 7 per cent to hit its 52-week low of ₹35 on the BSE. SpiceJet shares opened at ₹37.10 apiece after falling 2.33 per cent to close at ₹37.65 on Tuesday, a day when its Dubai-bound plane was diverted to Karachi due to malfunctioning of the fuel indicator.
In morning trade on Wednesday, shares of the airline were trading 2.66 per cent down at ₹36.65 apiece. The broader market was in the positive territory and the benchmark Sensex rose nearly 400 points to 53,533.84 points.
SpiceJet's Delhi-Dubai flight suffered a mid-air malfunction in its fuel indicator on Tuesday and was diverted to Karachi and cracks developed on the windshield of another plane of the budget carrier at a height of 23,000 feet forcing a priority landing in Mumbai in a double whammy for the airline. The two episodes on a single day have taken the total number of technical malfunction incidents involving SpiceJet aircraft to seven in the last over a fortnight.
(With inputs from PTI, ANI)
