‘Slats failure’ alert delays Bangkok-Delhi AI flight

“The pilots saw a slats failure warning and decided to turn the aircraft back to Bangkok. The aircraft was checked by the maintenance crew in Bangkok and was cleared to fly to Delhi. It departed at 5.03pm local time, and reached Delhi at 7.25 pm IST,” one source said.

An Air India spokesperson refused to comment. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is looking into the incident.

The airline recently faced another technical snag with its Dreamliner plane. Last month, a 787 plane with around 260 people on board suffered cabin depressurisation, while flying from Dubai to Kochi. The aircraft was cruising at 37,000 feet when the incident took place, with oxygen masks being deployed after some of the passengers began suffering nosebleeds.

In Tuesday’s incident, the warning message pertained to the aircraft’s slats. As per Skybrary, slats are extendable, high lift devices on the leading edge of the wings of some fixed wing aircraft.

Their purpose is to increase lift during low speed operations such as takeoff, initial climb, approach and landing.