A SpiceJet flight that took off for Nashik in Maharashtra from the Indira Gandhi International Airport here on Thursday morning returned midway to the national capital due to an 'autopilot' snag, a DGCA official said.
The Boeing 737 aircraft landed safely, he said. SpiceJet B737 aircraft VT-SLP, operating flight SG-8363 (Delhi-Nashik), on Thursday was involved in an air turnback due to an autopilot snag, the official said.
The airline in a statement later said its Delhi-Nashik flight returned to Delhi after the flight crew experienced a malfunction with the autopilot system. The aircraft made a normal landing at Delhi and passengers disembarked normally, SpiceJet said in the statement.
Facing financial turbulence amid high fuel prices and rupee depreciation, SpiceJet aircraft have been involved in a series of incidents in the past as well, following which the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) issued a show-cause notice to the airline.
On July 27, the aviation safety regulator also ordered the airline to operate a maximum of 50 per cent of its flights for eight weeks.
