Tech snag makes plane return to airport minutes after take-off

HYDERABAD: A Vijayawada-bound Air India flight carrying 81 passengers, including Andhra Pradesh Chief Secretary IYR Krishna Rao and other senior officials, landed again at the city airport ten minutes after its take-off from here, following a technical snag midair.

According to a senior official who was on board, the AI-544 flight took off for Vijayawada from Rajiv Gandhi International Airport at 4 PM, but developed some technical snag midair.

"After ten minutes of journey, the flight came back to Hyderabad," the official told PTI adding that there were some MLAs in the flight besides senior IAS and IPS officers.

When contacted, an Air India spokesperson said the flight was then thoroughly examined and it received technical clearance following which it took off at 7.30 PM to Vijayawada again.

IYR Krishna Rao said the officials were on their way to attend a meeting scheduled for tomorrow in Vijayawada.

The Air India official also confirmed that there were some VIPs, including MLAs, on board.