An Air India plane heading for London was forced back into the parking stand at the Delhi Indira Gandhi International Airport just before departure, when the crew found a potential technical problem, an airline representative confirmed on Thursday.
The flight, AI 2017, which was operating a Boeing 787 Dreamliner, was in the process of departure when the pilots noticed the anomaly. They responded to this by canceling the take-off process and triggered normal safety procedures, grounding the plane back at the gate for the sake of precautionary inspections.
"After a suspected technical problem, the pilots decided to stop the take-off roll and have the aircraft brought back for a full inspection according to protocol," the spokesperson stated.
To prevent inconvenience, Air India is making arrangements for an alternative aircraft to fly the passengers to London in the shortest possible time. Ground staff of the airline is also providing care and assistance to the stranded passengers, ensuring that they get the requisite support for the time spent on the ground.
"At Air India, passenger safety and welfare are our biggest concerns," the airline reaffirmed in its statement.
This accident has received extra scrutiny because the model involved is the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. The same model crashed in a disastrous accident on June 12 when another Air India-operated Dreamliner, which was taking off from Ahmedabad for London, crashed seconds after departure. The aircraft hit a medical college hostel building, and 20 people were killed on the ground and all except one of the 242 passengers on board.
Though the situation at present did not become an emergency, the airline's quick reaction and precautionary measure are watched carefully in the wake of last month's tragic crash.
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