Plane carrying Gadkari, 158 others returns to bay after 'caution alert'

Union minister Nitin Gadkari and 158 other passengers were stranded after a Delhi-bound IndiGo flight returned to bay on Tuesday following a caution message which the pilot observed during engine start.

The aircraft returned to bay for requisite checks after the pilot observed a 'momentary caution message', the airline said.

"The caution message reappeared during ground checks. The aircraft was withdrawn from service and is under maintenance at Nagpur," IndiGo said in a statement.

The airline said the aircraft was not involved in an aborted take-off. "A caution had appeared during engine start-up and appropriate operating procedures were followed," it added.

An airport official said flight 6E-636, using another aircraft, took off from Nagpur for Delhi at 1.54 pm, carrying "most of the 158 passengers, barring a few cancellations".

Asked if Gadkari was on board the 1.54 pm flight, the official said, "He may have requisitioned another aircraft or boarded another flight".

As per schedule, the IndiGo flight 6E-636 was supposed to take off from the Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar International Airport here at 7.50 am and reach Delhi at 9.35 am.

Gadkari's office here confirmed that the senior BJP leader, who is a Lok Sabha member from Nagpur constituency, was on board the first flight when the aircraft returned to bay for requisite checks.