Air India’s newest Airbus A350, operating a Delhi-New York flight with over 250 passengers on board, sustained engine damage after ingesting an improperly secured baggage container while taxiing to its parking bay at Delhi airport, sources said.The incident occurred when Flight AI101, which returned to the national capital shortly after take-off after Iran unexpectedly closed its airspace, was taxiing to its parking bay in dense fog.
No one was injured in the incident.
Engine ingestion refers to an incident in which a jet engine draws in a foreign object – such as baggage containers, tools, debris or birds – instead of clean air.
Unverified videos and pictures showed damage to the aircraft’s right-side engine.
The aircraft has been grounded for repairs, adding to Air India’s widebody aircraft shortage, with one of its six A350s currently out of service.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has launched a probe into the incident to ascertain how a foreign object got lodged inside the engine.
“Air India confirms that Flight AI101, operating from Delhi to New York (JFK), was forced to return to Delhi shortly after takeoff due to the unexpected closure of Iranian airspace, which impacted its planned route. Upon landing in Delhi, the aircraft encountered a foreign object while taxiing in dense fog, resulting in damage to the right engine,” the airline said in a statement.
It, however, did not identify the “foreign object”. Sources said the foreign object was an improperly secured baggage container.