Terror at 10,000 Feet: Technical Malfunction Halts SpiceJet’s Tirupati Flight, 80 Lives at Risk
Hyderabad (The Uttam Hindu) – A SpiceJet flight from Hyderabad to Tirupati returned to the Hyderabad airport on Thursday just 10 minutes after takeoff due to a technical snag. Flight SG 2696, carrying 80 passengers, took off at 6:10 a.m. from Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, Shamshabad. However, shortly after takeoff, the pilot detected a technical issue and immediately contacted Air Traffic Control to request permission to return. The aircraft was safely landed back at the airport.
According to the airline, the SpiceJet Q400 aircraft operating on the Hyderabad-Tirupati route experienced intermittent illumination of the AFT baggage door light after takeoff, although cabin pressure remained normal throughout. As a precautionary measure, the pilots chose to return to Hyderabad. The landing was safe and passengers deboarded normally. In the wake of the recent Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad, which claimed 274 lives, airlines have been maintaining high alert and exercising caution in flight operations. SpiceJet clarified that the flight did not make an emergency landing, and an alternative aircraft was arranged for the onward journey to Tirupati.
Earlier, on June 15, a Lufthansa flight from Frankfurt to Hyderabad returned to Germany after a bomb threat was received at Hyderabad airport at 6:01 p.m. A committee was formed to assess the threat and all standard procedures were followed. For safety, the airline was advised to return to the original or nearest airport. Air Traffic Control at Hyderabad later received a message that the flight was returning to Frankfurt.
The aircraft, which took off at 2:15 p.m., had not entered Indian airspace when it turned back and landed safely in Frankfurt two hours after departure. On June 12, an Air India aircraft heading to London Gatwick from Ahmedabad's Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport crashed shortly after takeoff, killing 241 of the 242 people onboard, along with 33 others on the ground.