Calicut-bound AI flight lands in Abu Dhabi after flames detected mid-air

A Calicut-bound Air India Express flight from Abu Dhabi landed back at Abu Dhabi airport after flames were detected in one of the engines soon after take-off, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation said on Friday.

Air India Express informed that the aircraft landed safely and all passengers are safe.

According to DGCA, 184 passengers were onboard when the flight took off.

"Soon after taking off and climbing to 1,000 feet, the pilot detected a flame in one of the engines and decided to go back to Abu Dhabi airport," Air India Express told ANI.

DGCA said that Air India Express B737-800 aircraft returned to the Abu Dhabi airport due to a mid-air flameout.

"Today an Air India Express B737-800 aircraft VT-AYC operating flight IX 348 (Abu Dhabi-Calicut) was involved in Airturnback due to the No. 1 engine flameout at 1,000 ft during the climb," DGCA said.

Earlier on January 23, an Air India Express flight from Trivandrum to Muscat landed back 45 minutes after taking off due to a technical glitch, officials said.

According to officials, the flight management system (FMS) developed a technical glitch.

"The flight took off from Trivandrum at 8.30 am and landed back at 9.17 am," they added.

In December 2022, a snake was found on a Dubai-bound Air India Express flight.

Air India Express Boeing B-737 flight from Calicut to Dubai took off as scheduled and after landing at Dubai airport, the staff reported a snake on board the aircraft.

The aviation regulatory body, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), had ordered a detailed probe regarding the incident, the aviation body said.