An IndiGo flight from Kolkata to Shillong was cancelled after one of its engines failed while the aircraft was taxiing towards the runway, prompting DMK MP P Wilson to seek an impartial review of airworthiness certificates and surprise safety inspections by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).
Wilson said he was travelling on IndiGo 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, the engine failed before take-off and was shut down.
The passengers remained on board for about two hours before the pilot announced that the flight had developed a technical glitch and the service was cancelled, Wilson said in a post on X. The report 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 not fit 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.
Airworthiness certification is the formal assurance that an aircraft meets the technical requirements for operation. Wilson described it as the most fundamental guarantee that an aircraft is safe to fly and said any compromise in the certification process could affect passenger safety, operational integrity and compliance with global regulatory norms.
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 people responsible for allowing unsafe aircraft to operate and strict action against officials found guilty of wrongdoing.
Wilson alleged an “unholy nexus” between some airlines and DGCA officials, claiming that such a relationship could allow unsafe aircraft, including aircraft allegedly operating without certificates, to remain in service. These claims were not independently established in the report and were presented as allegations by the MP.
The incident places attention on the distinction between an in-service technical failure and a proven lapse in the aircraft certification process. The available report confirms that the flight was cancelled after the engine problem occurred during taxiing, but it does not establish the cause of the failure, the aircraft’s maintenance history, the status of its airworthiness certificate or whether any regulatory breach took place.
Wilson said passengers board aircraft on the assumption that flights are safe and questioned the risks if a technical problem occurs after take-off. He asked the civil aviation minister and the DGCA to review the certification of aircraft across the country and to take action wherever inspections find non-compliance.
