DGCA: Did metal parts fall out of an aircraft? DGCA orders “thorough investigation”

New Delhi: In a rare case Metal parts allegedly fell from an overflying aircraft in Shankar Vihar on Monday evening. A local resident called the Delhi Police about the “falling of aircraft parts” from a Airplane which had just passed by at around 9.30 p.m. The Directorate General for Civil Aviation (DGCA) has a thorough probe in this incident.
An investigation is underway to determine whether the metal parts fell from an Air India Express plane that took off from IGIA to Bahrain at 8.49 p.m. The Boeing 737 suffered an engine failure shortly after takeoff and returned to Delhi half an hour later, at 9.19 p.m.
A spokesperson for AI Express said, “IX 145 encountered an engine issue after take-off from Delhi on September 2. The fault was rectified as per laid down procedures and a safety landing was conducted in Delhi. The incident has been reported to the regulator and other concerned authorities and is currently under investigation. We are aware of reports of metal pieces found in Shankar Vihar. At this time, we cannot confirm whether these metal pieces are from our aircraft. The investigation to ascertain the facts is still on.”
A senior DGCA official said, “We have ordered an investigation into the incident.”
Dropping something from an overhead plane at low altitude shortly after takeoff or just before landing is nothing new for Delhi. In 2018, “blue ice” – frozen human excrement – fell from a plane due to toilet leaks near Gurgaon. Some people thought the ball of ice falling from the sky was an extraterrestrial object and took samples of it home.