Smoke from tail forces flight to land in city

Following the incident, the latest in a series of crises that the airline has been facing, the Director General of Civil Aviation has ordered an inquiry, sources said.

The flight from Chennai to Kuwait was scheduled to depart in the early hours of Friday, with 159 passengers and crew on board. Almost immediately after taking off at 1.40 am from the city airport, the pilot noticed smoke coming from the tail of the flight.

The pilot soon contacted the Air Traffic Control at the airport, seeking permission for an emergency landing. The officials immediately made arrangements on the ground as the aircraft prepared to land.

Sources said the flight landed safely at Chennai airport at 2.20 am, and all the passengers were offloaded. There were made to stay in the waiting hall.

The engineering team tried to rectify the fault, but did not succeed. The airline arranged another aircraft to ferry the passengers. The flight finally departed to Kuwait at 4.30 am with the passengers.

Sources said the DGCA has ordered an inquiry into theincident.