Hong Kong to Delhi flight makes emergency landing in Kolkata airport

KOLKATA: A flight from Hong Kong to Delhi carrying 231 passengers and 11 crew made an emergency landing at Kolkata airport after the pilot suspected fuel leakage. The Boeing B787-8 Dreamliner aircraft that is just over nine-year old has been grounded.
According to airport officials, the pilot of Air India flight AI 315 radioed in a ‘Pan-Pan’ emergency message at 10.18 am.A ‘Pan-Pan’ is an urgency signal to indicate that there is an urgent situation in an aircraft. But it is not as severe as a Mayday call, which is a distress signal that indicates an immediate danger to life or aircraft.
According to ATC sources, the flight captain, Simran Preet Singh Gujral, suspected fuel leakage in the right engine, and hence, the emergency SOS call to the airport.
“Around 10.45 am, when the plane was around half an hour from Kolkata and more than 2.5 hours from its destination in Delhi, it was left with fuel to fly for just 1 hour and 45 minutes. We declared a full emergency and accorded priority landing to the aircraft,” an official at the airport said.
The plane touched down in Kolkata at 11.15 am and rolled into the parking stand where passengers were deboarded after engineers conducted a brief inspection of the right engine. Meanwhile, the airline said it had organized an alternative aircraft to ferry the passengers to Delhi.