Delhi-Dubai SpiceJet flight makes emergency landing in Karachi; DGCA orders probe

A SpiceJet flight from Delhi to Dubai—SG11-- made an emergency landing in Pakistan’s Karachi. The flight is a Boeing 737 aircraft. The aircraft made the emergency landing due to a technical fault in the aircraft. All passengers onboard are safe, news agency ANI reported.   

The flight took off at 8 am and was supposed to land in Dubai at 9:50 am local time. Soon after this, news became viral when a SpiceJet spokesperson said, "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." 

The company spokesperson further clarified that no emergency was declared and that the aircraft made a normal landing. The spokesperson added passengers have been served refreshments and a replacement aircraft is being sent to Karachi for flying passengers to Dubai.  

A CAA spokesperson noted, "Passengers of Indian plane transferred to transit lounge. Passengers being looked after in the lounge. Engineers are inspecting & trying to fix the problem in aircraft. It will be given clearance for flight only after a clearance report by engineers is in."

Meanwhile, aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has ordered a probe into the incident. A DGCA representative said, "The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has ordered probe into the incident where SpiceJet's Delhi-Dubai flight was diverted to Karachi as the fuel indicator started malfunctioning."

This, however, is not the first time that a SpiceJet flight has made emergency landing. A Delhi-Jabalpur-- SpiceJet flight DASH8 Q400 aircraft VT-SUR-- returned to Delhi airport on Saturday morning after operating crew saw smoke in the cabin, as per sources in the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). The video for the same had also gone viral on social media.

One of the sources said, “While climbing passing 5,000 ft, the crew noticed smoke in the cabin along with the lavatory smoke alarm sound. The cabin crew informed the cockpit crew of mild smoke in the cabin and on a visual check, no sign of smoke or damage was observed in the lavatory. The smoke warning also went off.” 

(With inputs from ANI, Nagarjun Dwarkanath)