Air India Pilot's Warning Words Before Emergency Hong Kong Return

Sonali Towari

An Air India flight made a sudden U-turn back to Hong Kong when the pilot declared: "We don't want to continue further" - what triggered this emergency decision?

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The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner reached 22,000 feet before beginning an unexpected descent, completing the emergency return in just 85 minutes after takeoff.

Photo Source: Ian Kirby  (CC BY-SA 3.0)

"For technical reasons, we would like to stay closer to Hong Kong," the pilot told air traffic controllers - the same aircraft model crashed in Ahmedabad just days earlier.

Photo Source: Christian Junker (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

The Ahmedabad crash killed 241 of 242 people onboard in India's deadliest aviation disaster - is there a connection to this latest incident?

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Air India confirmed the flight landed safely and is "undergoing checks as a matter of abundant precaution" - but what exactly was the technical issue?

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This wasn't an isolated incident - a British Airways Dreamliner to Chennai and a Lufthansa flight to Hyderabad both turned back on the same day.

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Air India canceled nine long-haul flights the next day, mostly Dreamliners, citing "plane shortage and snags" amid growing public concern.

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Despite the troubling pattern, India's aviation watchdog reportedly found "no major safety concerns" with Air India's fleet of 24 Dreamliners.

Photo Source: PTI

Air India's Chairman called the Ahmedabad crash "a catalyst to build a safer airline" - but passengers are left wondering if these planes are truly safe to fly.

Photo Source: IANS

The exact nature of the technical issue that forced the Hong Kong return remains undisclosed as investigations continue into both incidents.

Photo Source: The Hindustan Business Line