SpiceJet flight from Jeddah with 197 passengers on board makes emergency landing at Kochi airport

On Friday evening, a SpiceJet flight with 197 passengers and six crew members, headed for Kozhikode, made an emergency landing at Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL). According to an airport representative, hydraulic failure was the cause of the emergency landing. The aircraft departed from Jeddah (Saudi Arabia).

At 6:29 p.m., the airport announced a situation of emergency after a SpiceJet-SG 036 flight headed for Kozhikode airport rerouted to Kochi due to a technical issue. "Full emergency was declared at Kochi airport at 18:29 hours," the airline spokesperson said. After an emergency landing, the aircraft made a safe landing at 19:19 on the runway, according to the SpiceJet's spokesperson. 

"The SpiceJet B737 aircraft was operating flight SG-36 (Jeddah - Calicut)", he informed. However, the Air Traffic Control (ATC) notified the crews about some tyre pieces being discovered on the runway after takeoff from Jeddah, as per the airline. A warning illumination also emerged on later in the flight.

The pilots then made the decision to make a detour to Cochin, where low passes were made to make sure the landing gear lever was down and locked. The aircraft safely landed at Cochin after receiving confirmation from ATC that the landing gear had been extended, and the passengers boarded the plane as usual, he said.

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(With inputs from agencies)