Cockroaches wreaked havoc on an Air India flight from San Francisco to Mumbai on Monday early morning.
Passengers had to be reallocated seats after spotting small cockroaches on the Boeing 777 aircraft.
Authorities confirmed they would determine the cause of this by conducting a probe, and a deep clean took place as the plane landed at the Kolkata airport. It then left to reach Mumbai on time.
A spokesperson apologised for any inconvenience caused, explaining that despite regular fumigation, insects can sometimes enter planes during ground operations.
This comes as the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau continues to investigate the Air India crash in Ahmedabad, which claimed 241 lives onboard.
A confidential report of a routine July audit into the airline’s operations runs for 11 pages and highlights seven significant “Level I” breaches that need to be fixed by July 30. Also, 44 non-compliances that must be resolved by August 23. Soon after the crash, Ross Aimer, a pilot for top airlines including United Airlines from 1964 to 2004, said he’s not surprised by the crash given recent issues with the 787.
Aimer said: “I’m shocked, but knowing some of the issues with the 787, I’m not that surprised. It was bound to happen. It’s way too early to speculate. There’s no way we know enough to even think about what may have gone wrong, but I saw the initial video of the takeoff.”
Since the Ahmedabad crash, an Air India flight from Delhi to London aborted takeoff last Thursday after a technical scare. In a statement following yesterday’s incident, the airline said the cockpit crew of the Boeing 787-9 decided to “discontinue the takeoff” and landed so checks could be carried out.
The Daily Express has contacted Air India for a comment.