Air India 777 aircraft turns back after engine oil pressure drops, regulator says

An Air India Boeing 777 aircraft was forced to return to its point of departure after a drop in oil pressure prompted pilots to shut down one of the engines, India’s aviation regulator said on Monday.

The aircraft, which was en route to Mumbai, India’s financial capital, landed safely back in Delhi. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said the incident will be investigated, noting that modern aircraft are designed to safely continue flight and land on a single engine if necessary.

According to the DGCA, pilots detected low oil pressure in the right-hand engine of the Boeing 777-300ER during flaps retraction shortly after takeoff. The pressure later dropped to zero, leading the crew to shut down the engine and return to Delhi in line with standard operating procedures.

Air India said the aircraft is currently undergoing the required technical checks and apologized to passengers for the inconvenience. “Air India sincerely regrets the inconvenience caused due to this unforeseen situation,” a spokesperson said in a statement.

The incident comes as Air India remains under heightened scrutiny following the June 12 crash of a Boeing Dreamliner that killed 260 people. Earlier this year, the DGCA flagged multiple safety lapses at the airline, which was government-owned until 2022.

Earlier this month, an internal Air India investigation found “systemic failures” after one of its aircraft operated commercial flights without a valid airworthiness permit, with the airline acknowledging the need to improve compliance, according to a Reuters report.

The 15-year-old aircraft involved in Monday’s incident has previously flown to destinations including Vienna, Vancouver, and Chicago, based on data from Flightradar24. Boeing did not immediately respond to a request for comment. -Reporting by Komal Salecha and Abhijith Ganapavaram; Editing by Rashmi Aich and Christian Schmollinger/Reuters