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Journalism of Courage
An ATR72-600 turboprop plane operated by Alliance Air flew from Mumbai to Bhuj on Wednesday after having lost the cowl, or covering of one of its engine, while taking off. There were 70 people on board the aircraft including four crew members and one aircraft maintenance engineer.
According to an official at the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), the aviation safety regulator is investigating the incident. Shortly after the plane took off from Mumbai around 6.30am on Wednesday, the airport’s air traffic control reported that the aircraft’s engine cowl was found on the side of the runway. The aircraft continued its flight and landed safely at Bhuj.
“The separation of engine cowling may have aerodynamic effect leading to marginal aircraft performance deterioration. Engine components exposed to airflow may have been impacted. However in the present case, the aircraft has landed safely at destination,” the DGCA official said.
As per another source, aspects like maintenance records and flying conditions will be studied as part of the investigation. However, the source said that on the basis of the condition of the recovered engine cowl, the cause for it to come off is unlikely to be a foreign object colliding with the engine.
In a statement acknowledging the “unfortunate incident”, Alliance Air said, “While we follow laid down policies/procedures as per the regulatory authorities and have strict checks in place — both pre and post flight operations in order to ensure complete safety of our passengers & crew, we regret the unfortunate incident. We have taken strict note of the incident and a thorough investigation has been initiated. The findings of the same shall be shared with the regulatory authorities and we shall ensure that all required corrective actions are put in place.”
