GoAir plane suffers technical snag; returns to Guwahati minutes after take-off

A GoAir aircraft flying to Kolkata on Monday returned to the city airport a little over 10 minutes after take-off as it suffered a technical snag, an official said.

This is the second incident involving a GoAir plane in as many days. On Sunday, a Mumbai-bound aircraft from Chandigarh returned due to a technical snag.

On Monday, the A320 plane, carrying 139 people, sought an air turn back from the Air Traffic Controller (ATC) citing a minor technical snag, an official of Airports Authority of India said.

GoAir confirmed the incident and said the glitch-hit aircraft is being inspected and rectified by its team of engineers.

"The pilot of GoAir flight G8 546, operating on Guwahati-Kolkata route, soon after getting airborne at 11:17 am requested (the Air Traffic Control) for a turn back, saying there was a minor technical problem in the aircraft," the official told PTI.

The aircraft landed back safely at 11:29 am with 132 passengers and seven crew members on board, the official added.

As per the official, the aircraft has been grounded and a decision over it flying again would be taken by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).

"GoAir flight G8 546 from Guwahati to Kolkata did an air turn back due to a technical glitch. After turn back, the flight landed safely at Kolkata airport with 132 passengers on board," GoAir said in a statement.

The aircraft is being inspected and rectified by GoAir engineering team. Alternate flight arrangements are being explored to accommodate the passengers to their destination, it added.