IndiGo Plane With 60 Passengers Aborts Take-Off, Airline Cites Technical Snag As Report Says Pilot Gave ‘May Day’ Call

A flight from Ahmedabad to Diu aborted take-off at the last minute on Wednesday due to a technical issue, reports news agency PTI, quoting sources. The flight carrying 60 passengers and crew members was supposed to depart around 11:15 am from the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport.

According to News18, the pilot sent a “Mayday" call to air traffic control after plane started moving down the runway. The engine of flight ATR76 caught fire before the plane’s scheduled departure from the Ahmedabad airport at 11 am.

The aircraft was in the take-off roll phase when the pilot decided to stop it on the runway. A technical snag indication was noticed just before the take-off on IndiGo flight 6E7966 operating from Ahmedabad to Diu on July 23, IndiGo said in a statement.

According to the standard operating procedure, the pilots informed the authorities and returned the aircraft to the bay, the source said, adding that the aircraft will undergo necessary checks and maintenance before resuming operations. 

The airline further said that it will accommodate the passengers in the next available flight or will provide a full refund against cancellation, as per their preference.

Speaking to news agency PTI, an airport official said the IndiGo flight was cancelled due to some technical issues.

“When the aircraft began its take-off roll, the pilots took a decision to stop it due to some technical reasons, a source said.All the 50-odd passengers and crew members are safe,” he said.

This is the third incident involving an IndiGo aircraft in the last few days. On July 21, an IndiGo flight from Goa with 140 passengers on board made an emergency landing at the Devi Ahilyabai Holkar Airport in Madhya Pradesh's Indore due to a landing gear issue.

Prior to that, on July 17, a Goa-bound IndiGo flight from Delhi made an emergency landing in Mumbai after being diverted to it due to a mid-air engine failure. The flight was being operated with an Airbus A320neo aircraft. On June 12, an Air India flight to London Gatwick crashed within seconds of its take-off from the Ahmedabad airport, killing 241 of the 242 passengers and crew members on board and 19 persons on the ground.

(With inputs from PTI.)

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