Air India's Mumbai-bound B777 plane returns to Delhi due to right engine issue

A Mumbai-bound Air India's Boeing 777 aircraft made an emergency landing in the national capital in less than one hour after taking off due to right engine shutdown on Monday morning, according to sources.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) will be conducting a probe and the civil aviation ministry has sought details from Air India about the incident.

The plane, carrying around 335 people, was airborne for nearly an hour before returning to Delhi. The aircraft made an emergency landing, the sources said.

"The crew operating flight AI887 from Delhi to Mumbai on 22 December decided to return to Delhi shortly after take-off due to a technical issue as per standard operating procedure," Air India said in a statement.

The aircraft landed safely at Delhi and the passengers and crew have disembarked, the airline said and regretted the inconvenience caused due to this unforeseen situation.

The civil aviation ministry said it has taken note of the Air India incident involving a technical issue shortly after take-off.

"The Ministry has sought a detailed report from Air India, and DGCA has been directed to conduct a thorough investigation. The airline has been directed to extend all assistance to passengers and accommodate them on subsequent flights," the ministry said in a post on X.

A DGCA official said the plane was involved in an air turnback as during flap retraction after take-off, the flight crew observed low engine oil pressure on the right hand engine (engine No.2).

"Shortly thereafter, the engine oil pressure dropped to zero. Following the procedure crew shutdown the No.2 engine and aircraft landed safely at Delhi. Inspection/rectification is in progress. The incident would be investigated by the Permanent investigation board of the Airline under the supervision of Director Air Safety(NR), DGCA," the official said.

According to a source at the DGCA, the review of previous records does not indicate any abnormality in oil consumption.

Air India said the plane is undergoing the necessary checks and alternative arrangements have been made to fly the passengers to their destination.

The flight AI887 was being operated with a Boeing 777-300 ER aircraft and was airborne for about an hour after taking off at around 6.30 am, as per information available on flight tracking website Flightradar24.com.