Air India: Looking closely at the situation, know why America said this about the Air India plane that landed in Russia
State Department Deputy Spokesman Vedant Patel told reporters that there is information about a US-bound flight that made an emergency landing in Russia.
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Air India flight AI173 from Delhi to San Francisco had a technical glitch in one of its engines on Tuesday. The pilot immediately contacted the nearby Magadan airport in Russia and sought permission to divert the flight. After this the aircraft was safely landed. Meanwhile, the US is also closely monitoring the situation.
The Tata Group-owned private airline said in a statement last evening that flight AI173 from Delhi was diverted to Magadan in Russia on Tuesday due to engine failure. The aircraft landed safely carrying 216 passengers and 16 crew.
Unknown number of US citizens
State Department Deputy Spokesman Vedant Patel told reporters that he is aware of a US-bound flight that had to make an emergency landing in Russia. We are closely monitoring the situation. When Patel was asked how many American citizens were on the plane, he said that I am not able to confirm at this time how many Americans were on the flight.
Patel said that the plane had taken flight to come to America. So, there is certainly a possibility that there are US citizens in it as well. He said that continuous talks are going on with Air India. Patel said that I understand that another aircraft is being made available for the passengers.
Alternative flight will leave on June 7
Air India will arrange an alternate flight from Magadan to San Francisco on June 7 to ferry the passengers to their destinations. All the passengers and crew of AI173 will depart from this aircraft. All are currently staying in local hotels in Magadan. The authorities there are fully cooperating with us to ensure that the passengers reach their destinations safely at the earliest.