AFP
An Air India passenger jet heading to Frankfurt was forced
to return to Mumbai after a bag of curry powder set off smoke and
fire alarms, it was reported on Saturday.
Pilots on the Boeing 747-400 plane activated fire extinguishers
after receiving a cockpit warning about a fire in the cargo hold
early on Friday morning, the Mumbai Mirror newspaper said.
But on the plane's return to India's financial and entertainment
capital, engineers said the alert had been triggered by the escape
of particles from a bag containing two to three kilogrammes (up to
6.6lbs) of curry powder.
The bag, belonging to a passenger from the western Indian
state of Gujarat, was removed before the plane took off again after
a 12-hour delay.
"On taking off for the second time, the pilot apologised for the
delay and announced that a bag containing curry powder had caused
the problem," Air India spokesman Jitendra Bhargava was quoted as
saying.
Mangoes and meat products that generate heat have been suspected
of causing similar incidents on Air India flights in the past, the
newspaper said.
