Air India solves glitch in Boeing plane stranded in Magadan; aircraft departs for Mumbai

Image used for representational purpose.

Air India's Boeing aircraft that was grounded in Magadan in far east Russia is now airborne after engineers rectified the oil system defect in one of the engines, and the plane is scheduled to land in Mumbai later today, according to the airline, reported the news PTI.

According to PTI, the incident occurred on June 6 when flight AI 173, carrying 216 passengers and 16 crew members, was en route from Delhi to San Francisco. Due to a mid-air glitch in one of the engines of the Boeing 777-200LR aircraft, the plane was diverted to the port city of Magadan in far east Russia.

Passengers and crew were stranded in Magadan for two days until a replacement aircraft was arranged, which transported them to San Francisco on June 8.

An Air India spokesperson stated on Saturday that the grounded B777-200LR aircraft with registration mark VT-ALH, which had remained in Magadan following the diversion of flight AI173 DEL-SFO, has now departed from Magadan and is en route to Mumbai.

"The engineering team, which flew on a ferry flight to Magadan on June 7, successfully rectified the defect in the oil system of one of the aircraft's engines. Prior to takeoff from Magadan today, the aircraft underwent thorough safety checks and was certified as serviceable," the spokesperson said in a statement.

According to sources, the aircraft currently has two pilots and eight cabin crew members on board.

To address the issue of oil pressure in one of the engines, Air India dispatched four engineers on a ferry flight to Magadan on June 7, ensuring the stranded aircraft was repaired and made airworthy once again.

(This is a developing story, will be updated as and when inputs are received)