A routine early morning domestic SpiceJet flight out of Kolkata was disrupted after the pilots noticed a crack in one of the windows of the aircraft and decided to turn back. While airplane windshields are made to withstand high pressure and impacts, any visible crack or damage needs to be addressed immediately as a safety precaution.
Flight disrupted
SpiceJet flight SG 515 is a scheduled daily cross-country flight from east to west between Kolkata and Mumbai in India. With a departure time of 05:55, it is operated by the budget carrier’s Boeing 737 aircraft.
On September 20th, the plane took off a little behind schedule at 06:17 and reached a cruising altitude of 36,000 feet. According to Flightradar24.com, the 737 began turning back after about half an hour into the flight, and we now know that a cracked windshield was the reason behind it.
Thankfully, the plane performed a normal landing, and nobody onboard was injured. The pilots took a precautionary approach after spotting the crack and informed the Kolkata ATC about the situation. SpiceJet released a statement that said,
About the aircraft
The airplane involved in the incident is an almost 12-year-old Boeing 737-800 registered as VT-SGV. Data from ch-aviation shows that it was delivered to SpiceJet in November 2011. As of June 2022, it has accumulated more than 35,000 hours across 23,027 flight cycles.
SpiceJet has a fleet of 58 aircraft, of which 32 are in active operations, per ch-aviation. It has 14 Boeing 737-800s, five 737-700s, nine 737 MAX 8s, three 737-900ER, and three 737 converted freighters. The low-cost carrier operates a mixed fleet and also has 24 Dash 8s, primarily used for regional flights.
