A recent Air India flight from Delhi to San Francisco that diverted to Russia was waylaid due to an oil pressure issue; Easy Flying can now independently confirm. The Boeing 777 was en-route from Delhi to California when the engine issue was discovered, forcing the flight to the touch down within the distant Russian town.
Air India then sent a rescue flight to hold its passengers to their final destination. The flight’s 216 passengers and 16 crew members have now safely landed in San Francisco, where they were met by airline staff, rebooked to their final destinations, fully refunded, and given a voucher for future flights.
The aircraft in query
Flight AI173, the carrier’s day by day service to San Francisco, departed Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport and was well into the 15-hour journey when the problem arose. The 13-year-old Boeing 777-200LR, registered as VT-ALH, bumped into trouble because it was overflying Russia and landed at Magadan Sokol Airport, serving the port town on the Sea of Okhotsk in Siberia. In line with a letter to passengers, a duplicate of which was provided to Easy Flying by the airline, the problem needed to do with an oil pressure warning:
“The aircraft encountered a technical issue whereby the pilots received a sign of low oil pressure in a single engine.
“Out of caution, they elected to land the aircraft at a close-by airport quite than proceed the journey.”
Photo: Sundry Photography | Shutterstock
This is just not the primary time an oil issue has forced an Air India Boeing 777 off beam. In February, a flight sure for Newark diverted after an oil leak was discovered in engine number two. The leaking engine was turned off, and the plane landed safely shortly thereafter in Stockholm, where fire engines met it upon arrival.
