An Air India flight from Hong Kong to Delhi (AI-315) faced a scare on Tuesday when its auxiliary power unit (APU) caught fire shortly after landing at Indira Gandhi International Airport.
The airline confirmed that the fire broke out while passengers were exiting the Airbus A321 aircraft. The APU, a small engine used to provide power when the main engines are off, was automatically shut down after the fire was detected by onboard systems.
Thankfully, all passengers and crew were able to safely disembark. However, the plane did suffer some damage and has now been grounded for inspection. Authorities, including the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), have been informed and an investigation is underway.
This incident adds to a growing list of recent troubles for the airline. In the past six months, Air India has received nine notices from the DGCA for five different safety issues, according to junior Aviation Minister Murlidhar Mohol.
In fact, this is the third safety-related incident involving Air India in just 48 hours:
* On Monday, a Kochi-Mumbai flight veered off the runway while landing, causing damage to both the aircraft and the runway.
* Later the same day, a Delhi-Kolkata flight had to abort take-off at high speed (155 km/h) due to a technical issue.
There have also been other technical issues in recent weeks. For instance, last month a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner flying the same Hong Kong-Delhi route had to return to Hong Kong after a similar problem.
All these events come shortly after an Air India flight from Ahmedabad was involved in a crash landing, raising serious concerns about safety at the airline.
