SpiceJet Delhi-Nashik flight returns midway due to autopilot snag

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) had issued a show-cause notice to the airline.

On July 27, the aviation safety regulator had also ordered the airline to operate a maximum of 50 per cent of its flights for eight weeks.

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