Air India, AI Express to do away with flight number '171'
New Delhi (PTI): Air India and Air India Express will do away with flight number '171' after the fatal crash of the Air India plane that killed 241 people onboard on Thursday, according to sources.
The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner aircraft that went down soon after take-off was operating the flight 'AI 171' from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick.
Sources on Saturday said it is a general practice that airlines stop using particular flight numbers after fatal flight accidents.
From June 17 onwards, the flight number of Ahmedabad-London Gatwick will be 'AI 159' instead of 'AI 171'. The required changes to the booking system were made on Friday, one of the sources said.
Another source said that Air India Express has also decided to do away with its flight number 'IX 171'.
The discontinuation of the flight number '171' is also a mark of respect for the departed souls, they added.
In 2020, Air India Express also discontinued using the flight number of the aircraft that crashed in Kozhikode, killing 21 people onboard.
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Boeing aircraft catches fire on runway at Denver Airport; Panicked passengers slide out amid smoke
Denver: A major accident was narrowly averted at Denver International Airport on Saturday afternoon when an American Airlines flight to Miami had to stop takeoff after its landing gear resulted in smoke and fire on the runway.
The Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft, operating as flight AA-3023, had 173 passengers on board, all of whom were safely evacuated. However, one person reportedly suffered a minor injury and was taken to the hospital for treatment.
A footage circulating online shows the moment panic-stricken passengers rushed down emergency slides while thick smoke rose from the aircraft’s left rear wheel.
🚨#BREAKING: Watch as People evacuate from a American Airlines jet after a left main wheels caught fire
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📌#Denver | #Colorado
Watch as passengers and crew evacuate American Airlines Flight 3023, a Boeing 737 MAX 8, at Denver International Airport. The Miami-bound jet was forced… pic.twitter.com/RmUrXYj5Jp
American Airlines, in a statement, said that the aircraft ‘experienced a maintenance issue’ with a tire on the landing gear just before taking off. “All customers and crew deplaned safely, and the aircraft was taken out of service to be inspected by our maintenance team,” the airlines added.
The US aviation watchdog, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), is investigating the incident which led to the fire after malfunction in the landing gear.
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