NEW DELHI: An Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner plane bound for New Delhi returned to its origin of Hong Kong as a precautionary measure on Monday, after the pilot suspected a technical issue mid-air, a source with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters.
The incident comes days after an Air India flight to London, using the same type of Boeing aircraft, crashed in the western Indian city of Ahmedabad moments after take-off, killing 241 of the 242 people on board.
The Dreamliner aircraft flying Air India flight AI315 out of Hong Kong on Monday is now undergoing checks, said the source with knowledge of the matter.
Flight AI315 took off from Hong Kong at 12:16 p.m. and landed just over an hour later, according to tracking data on Flightradar24.
Boeing and Air India did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the Hong Kong-New Delhi flight.
DEATH TOLL IN THURSDAY’S CRASH REACHES 270
In the Air India Boeing 787 Dreamliner crash, that took place in Ahmedabad on Thursday, the death toll continues to pile up as more bodies are recovered. The flight bound for London had crashed in less than a minute after takeoff, and into a hostel building of a nearby hospital. Authorities are afraid that the death toll on the ground might also rise even further.
Less than 60 seconds after leaving Ahmedabad’s Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport, the Air India Dreamliner lost altitude, falling to the death of all but one of the 242 passengers aboard, along with the crew. The hostel building, on which the plane crashed, housed hundreds of medical students and staff as well.
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