News Desk: An Air India Express Boeing 737 operating flight IX 415 from Cochin to Abu Dhabi was forced to turn back to Cochin after the crew detected a rapid drop in oil quantity in one of its engines while the aircraft was cruising at 36,000 feet. The aircraft had been airborne for around 50 minutes when the pilots noticed that the oil quantity in Engine 1 was falling rapidly. After assessing the situation through the FORDEC decision-making process, the crew decided to abandon the Abu Dhabi sector and return to Cochin International Airport. The commander informed air traffic control through Mumbai Radio that the aircraft was turning back. During the return flight, the pilots continued monitoring the engine parameters and prepared for possible contingencies.
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Around 45 minutes after turning back, the oil pressure in Engine 1 began fluctuating and subsequently entered the red zone on the cockpit gauge, indicating dangerously low pressure. The crew then followed the prescribed Non-Normal Checklist and shut down the affected engine. The aircraft subsequently landed safely at Cochin International Airport. According to reports, passengers onboard were not aware of the seriousness of the technical problem that had developed in the cockpit.
The landing was particularly demanding as the Boeing 737 was operating on a single engine while still carrying the additional weight associated with the return flight. The pilots nevertheless completed the landing safely. The incident comes amid a series of technical diversions involving Indian carriers and days after the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau released preliminary findings into another Air India flight incident involving the Phuket-Delhi sector. Official comments from Air India Express and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on the latest incident were awaited.
