High temperature indication from radioactive cargo on Air India Mumbai-Nagpur flight

MUMBAI: Radioactive consignment stowed in the cargo hold of an Air India aircraft, operating a flight from Mumbai to Nagpur with 72 passengers on board, caused a high temperature indication from the cargo hold on Wednesday morning. The return flight operated close to four hours late after the aircraft underwent an inspection.

An Air India spokesperson said: “After landing, high temperature from cargo hold was reported to be caused from a sealed consignment of radioactive material. The consignment has been offloaded and accepted by the consignee.” The airline added that after necessary clearance from the regulatory authorities, its return flight AI-628 from Nagpur to Mumbai will take off with 148 passengers on board.

According to sources, due to the radioactive material the temperature in the rear cargo compartment has gone up to 80 degree Celsius. “It’s confirmed that the radioactive material was in the rear cargo hold.hhold. Boarding clearance for the return flight was withheld,” the source added