An oleo strut is a hydraulic device that is used as a shock absorber in the landing gear of an aircraft. It consists of a cylinder fitted with a hollow, perforated piston into which nitrogen gas and hydraulic fluid is slowly forced when a compressive force is applied to the landing gear, as in a landing.

“It may be due to depletion of nitrogen used in the oleo strut or internal seal damage. The exact reason would be ascertained based on the investigation of the landing gear strut,” the DGCA official said. Subsequently, the official said, nitrogen was replenished as per the maintenance procedure and no other abnormality was observed. The aircraft was thereafter released to service.

The aircraft was assigned to fly to Madurai from Dubai but given the grounding of the plane, the SpiceJet flight was delayed. This was the ninth incident of a technical malfunction involving a SpiceJet flight in the last 24 days.

In a statement, a SpiceJet spokesperson said: “On July 11, 2022, SpiceJet flight SG23 operating from Dubai to Madurai was delayed due to a last-minute technical issue. Alternate aircraft was arranged immediately which brought passengers back to India. Flight delays can happen with any airline. There has been no incident or a safety scare on this flight.

“After the minor technical issue was resolved, the first aircraft flew back to India as a commercial flight.”

Last week, the DGCA had issued a show-cause notice to SpiceJet after a series of air safety incidents, and said that the low-cost airline had failed to establish safe, efficient and reliable air services.

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