India: Information obtained from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) through a Right to Information (RTI) query has revealed that 65 incidents of engine shutdowns have been reported in the last five years.
The information further revealed that 11 “Mayday” distress calls were made from aircraft cockpits in 17 months, reported TOI.
The data reflect how engine malfunctions plague airlines operating in India at the rate of nearly one incident a month.
“A total of 65 incidents related to in-flight shutdown of engines from 2020 to 2025 (till date) were reported across India,” states the DGCA’s RTI reply to the newspaper. Pilots were able to safely manoeuvre the aircraft to the nearest airport with a single, unaffected engine in all 65 of these instances.
The data furnished by the DGCA shows that between Jan 1, 2024, and May 31, 2025, there were Mayday calls from 11 flights, reporting various technical glitches and seeking emergency landing. The data doesn’t include London-bound AI-171 that crashed in Ahmedabad on June 12 and a diverted domestic IndiGo flight on June 19.
The data reveals that four of the 11 flights had issued distress calls due to technical glitches and landed at Hyderabad.
“Flight crew initiate MAYDAY calls when confronted with critical emergencies such as aircraft fires, engine failures or situations posing imminent danger, necessitating immediate landing or grounding as continued flight becomes unsafe,” said Anil Rao, secretary of the Airline Pilots’ Association of India (ALPA) told a newspaper.
