Air India Plane Carrying 172 Passengers Hits Air Turbulence, Damaged

An Air India plane with 172 passengers on board suffered "minor" damages on Friday after it hit air turbulence on its way to Kochi from Thiruvananthapuram. However, no injury to any passenger or crew has been reported and the aircraft landed safely, an official said, adding that Air India's safety department has carried out a detailed investigation regarding the incident.

"Air India's Delhi-Trivandrum-Kochi flight A1467 hit air turbulence when it was on the way to Kochi from Trivandrum. Though no injury has been reported, the A321 aircraft suffered minor damages," PTI quoted the official as saying.

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"It was grounded immediately after landing for inspection. Due to this, the return flight was delayed by nearly four hours," he added.

This is the second time this week that an Air India flight was struck by intense turbulence, damaging the aircraft and in the first case, injuring the cabin crew.

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Sources close to the airline said that on September 17 also, an Air India plane carrying 174 passengers from New Delhi to Vijaywada hit severe bad weather. When contacted, an Air India spokesperson said the matter was not reported to the airline.

(With inputs from agencies)