Chidambaram's plane develops technical snag; lands safely

A Coimbatore-bound Jet Airways plane carrying Home Minister P Chidambaram and 63 other passengers today developed a technical problem mid-air and had to return to Chennai.

The problem in the second engine of the 'ATR-72' plane was noticed 30 minutes after the aircraft was airborne, following which the pilot sought permission for a "safe landing," airport officials said. Besides the pilot, the plane had two other crew members.

As the Air Traffic Control (ATC) gave the green signal to the pilot of Jet flight '9W2753' to land in Chennai, CISF personnel and officials of Airports Authority of India (AAI) put in place standby precautionary measures, including fire tenders, they said.

The plane was steered by the pilot to a safe landing, the officials said.

Chidambaram and the rest of the passengers were put on another flight which later landed at Coimbatore where the Home Minister has gone to on an official visit.

"It is nothing major. It's a very small thing. Don't make it a big issue," Chidambaram told reporters on his arrival in Coimbatore airport.

He said there was some technical problem in the aircraft, following which it had to return to Chennai airport.