New Delhi, Aug 5: A total of six aircraft engine shutdown incidents and three incidents of May Day calls have been reported so far this year, according to the civil aviation ministry.
As per data shared by Minister of State for Civil Aviation Murlidhar Mohol with the Rajya Sabha, there have been two incidents of engine shutdown, each involving IndiGo and SpiceJet, while Air India and Alliance Air had one such incident each.
There have been three incidents of May Day Call, including for the Air India aircraft operating the London Gatwick-bound flight AI 171 that crashed into a building soon after take off from Ahmedabad on June 12.
IndiGo and Air India Express also had one incident each of May Day Call.
A pilot repeats May Day thrice to clearly communicate with the air traffic controller on the ground that the aircraft is in a life-threatening situation and needs urgent help.
“During 2025, from January to July (till date), a total of 06 incidents of engine shutdown and a total of 03 incidents of May Day calls have been reported,” Mohol said in a written reply on Monday.
In a separate written reply, the minister said the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau’s preliminary report, published on the basis of available factual information on July 12, does not contain any conclusion about the Air India plane crash and that the probe is still in progress.
To a query on whether the government will investigate the crash from a sabotage angle as well, Mohol said, “every aspect is being looked into for determining the probable cause(s)/contributory factor(s) leading to the accident”.
The minister, in another written reply, said a “total of 36 accidents (involving 2 scheduled aircraft, 2 non-scheduled aircraft, 19 trainee aircraft, 2 private aircraft and 11 helicopters) have been reported since 2022”. (PTI)
