2nd time in 10 days: ‘Excessive noise’ forces Air India A350 to divert | India News
New Delhi: For the second time in exactly 10 days, a new Airbus A350 (VT-JRF) of Air India could not complete its long-haul journey due to turbulence, excessive vibration and noise in the pet hold section. The latest incident happened on Thursday when it was operating as AI 111 from Delhi to London. The problem recurred when the aircraft was in Omani airspace. The airline then decided to call it back to Delhi, where it returned after flying for over seven hours. The airline is approaching Airbus over the issue with a new aircraft, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is investigating the matter.The exact same problem occurred on March 16 when VT-JRF was flying from New York to Delhi. Passengers in rows 32 and 33 were rudely awakened by floor vibrations and noises beneath their feet. They alerted the crew members to the noise and vibration that disturbed them. Being close to the coast of Ireland at the time, the pilots decided to divert to Shannon and the aircraft operating as AI 102 (VT-JRF) landed safely there with 300 passengers on board. The aircraft was then grounded there for checks as advised by Airbus.After completing the Airbus-recommended checks and taking action according to the original equipment manufacturer, the aircraft flew to Dehi on March 19. It operated 10 flights on the Delhi-London-Delhi and Delhi-New York (via Rome) routes until the problem hit again on Thursday.Regarding the latest issue, a DGCA official said: “Air India A350 aircraft VT-JRF operating flight AI 111 (returned to Delhi) due to excessive noise issue by the flight crew. The aircraft returned from close to Omani airspace. Earlier on March 16, the same problem was encountered in this aircraft while operating flight AI 102 (New York (JFK)-Delhi). The aircraft was then maintained/inspected in consultation with Airbus and no deficiencies were observed. Since then the aircraft has flown 10 sectors without any abnormalities. Officials of the Directorate of Airworthiness and Air Safety will investigate the aircraft.On Thursday, the Airbus A350-900 took off from Delhi at 5.42 am and it returned to IGIA at 12.51 pm. “Passengers will be sent to hotels and alternative arrangements are being made for their travel,” sources said. Comment has been sought and awaited from AI on Thursday’s return.
