Spicejet: 2nd malfunction incident in a day, windshield cracks

A SpiceJet plane was forced to make a priority landing in Mumbai after its windshield broke mid-air, the airline confirmed on Tuesday.

According to an airline spokesperson, a SpiceJet Q400 aircraft was operating SG 3324 (Kandla - Mumbai) and while cruising at FL230, the outer panel of the P2 side windshield cracked.

The on-air scare occurred on the same day when another SpiceJet flight from Delhi to Dubai had to be diverted to Karachi after its fuel gauge started failing.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is investigating the Karachi incident, along with the five previous incidents, the officials said.

The Boeing 737 Max plane, which was en route from Delhi to Dubai, began to show an unusual reduction in the amount of fuel in its left tank when it was in the air, they said.

Therefore, the plane was diverted to Karachi, they said. When an inspection was carried out at the Karachi airport, no visual leak was seen from the left tank, they added.

There have reportedly been at least seven incidents on SpiceJet planes since June 19, raising questions about the safety of passengers flying on SpiceJet flights.

In particular, SpiceJet has made losses for the past three years. The budget airline incurred a net loss of Rs 316 crore, Rs 934 crore and Rs 998 crore in 2018-19, 2019-20 and 2020-21, respectively.

Just two days ago, the pilot of a SpiceJet Q400 airliner flying from Delhi to Jabalpur made a "cold day" distress call and returned to Delhi after smoke was detected in the cabin.

On June 19, a SpiceJet plane bound for Delhi, with 185 passengers on board, made an emergency landing in Patna proper after takeoff when its left engine caught fire following a bird strike.

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