All was well when a flight from a private carrier took off from Bengaluru’s Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) on Monday and landed at Mumbai, however, authorities were puzzled during the post-flight inspection of the aircraft when they found that the flight was missing a fairing panel on one wing.
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News agency PTI reported that the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), which is a regulator in the aviation sector, is conducting a probe into the matter. A fairing panel on an aircraft is responsible for producing a smooth outline and reducing drag.
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The incident occurred with an AirAsia plane which had over 140 passengers on board, none of whom were harmed.
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The airline, which conducted its own inspections, also gave out a statement on Tuesday which read, “AirAsia India flight i5-612 from Bengaluru to Mumbai reported a section of a fairing panel missing during post-flight inspection.” The panel was not a load-bearing member of the aircraft structure, it added.
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While the missing panel has been replaced with a new one and the flight has been cleared to continue operations, authorities are inspecting on where and how it could have gone missing.
(With inputs from PTI)
