An IndiGo flight from Kolkata to Shillong was cancelled after an engine failed while the aircraft was taxiing towards the runway, prompting DMK MP P Wilson to demand an impartial review of aircraft airworthiness certificates and surprise safety inspections by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).
Wilson said he was travelling on flight 6E 7423 with three other MPs and 67 passengers to attend a Joint Parliamentary Committee public hearing when the aircraft stopped while moving from the parking bay towards the runway. According to his account, one engine failed before take-off and was shut down.
The passengers remained on board for about two hours before the pilot announced a technical problem and the flight was cancelled, Wilson said in a post on X. The report supplied by the Times of India did not include a response from IndiGo, the DGCA or the Union Civil Aviation Ministry to the incident or the allegations raised by the MP.
Wilson questioned how the aircraft had received an airworthiness certificate if it was, as he alleged, unsafe to operate. He urged Union Civil Aviation Minister Kinjarapu Ram Mohan Naidu to direct the DGCA to conduct an impartial review of airworthiness certificates issued to aircraft operating across the country.
The MP also called for surprise inspections by vigilance units wherever necessary. He said aircraft found not to meet safety requirements should have their certificates cancelled, be grounded and prohibited from flying. He further sought punishment for those responsible and strict action against officials found guilty of wrongdoing.
Airworthiness certification is the regulatory assurance that an aircraft meets the technical requirements needed to fly. Wilson described it as the most fundamental guarantee that an aircraft is technically fit for operation and said any compromise in the certification process could affect passenger safety, operational integrity and compliance with international aviation norms.
The incident became a wider regulatory concern because the aircraft developed a technical problem before take-off, rather than during flight. Wilson said the episode raised questions about the checks conducted before aircraft are cleared for service and asked what could happen if a technical problem developed after take-off.
He also alleged an “unholy nexus” between some airlines and DGCA officials, claiming that it allowed unsafe aircraft, including aircraft allegedly operating without valid certificates, to remain in service. Those allegations were not independently established in the supplied report. His statement referred to recent concerns over aviation safety and cited the Air India AI 171 crash as an example.
The immediate operational outcome in the reported incident was the cancellation of flight 6E 7423. Wilson’s requested next steps are a review of airworthiness certificates across airlines, surprise inspections and regulatory action where violations are found. No DGCA investigation, inspection order or formal ministry response was reported in the supplied material.
