Mid-air scare as Air India plane door not properly locked

NEW DELHI: Around 400 passengers and crew of an Air India flight from Jeddah to Mumbai via Hyderabad today had a mid-air scare when a cockpit panel indicated that one of the doors was not properly locked, forcing the plane to return soon after take off.

The Boeing 747 Jumbo flight AI 964 on Jeddah-Hyderabad- Mumbai route with 380 passengers and 12 crew members took off from the Saudi Arabian city early this morning.

But as soon as it was airborne, a warning light blipped in the cockpit about one of the aircraft doors, airline sources said.

"The plane AI 964 turned back at Jeddah following door indication coming on during climb," Air India spokesperson later said.

"So as a precautionary measure, the pilot landed back at Jeddah where necessary inspections were carried out by engineers. The same was corrected by them. Air India strongly denies that the door was open mid-air, he said."

Due to this, the flight was delayed by about two hours and when it took off again, it was diverted to Mumbai instead of going to Hyderabad as scheduled as the Flight Duty Time Limitation of the cockpit and cabin crew was about to end, the sources said.

The plane landed safely in Mumbai and the Hyderabad-bound passengers were flown to the city by another flight, the spokesperson said.