Window pane of Goa-Pune SpiceJet flight comes off midair

PUNE: Passengers on board a Goa-to-Pune SpiceJet flight (SG-1080) had a scare on Tuesday evening when a window panel was found dislodged while the plane was midair.

The airline played down the incident, saying the window part that had come off was "a non-structural trim component, fitted onto the window for the purpose of shade".

But a person on board the plane - a Bombardier Q400 - told TOI the incident triggered anxiety among the passengers. "Two to three layers of the window panel just came off," said Aatish Mishra, the passenger.

"There was no depressurisation, but this shouldn't have happened... We've just had a tragic plane crash," he added.

The airline issued a statement saying: "A cosmetic window frame on one of SpiceJet's Q400 aircraft became loose during flight and was found dislodged. It is important to note that this was a non-structural trim component, fitted onto the window for the purpose of shade, and did not compromise the safety or integrity of the aircraft in any way. Cabin pressurisation remained normal throughout the flight, and there was no impact on passenger safety ."

Mishra said he was in row 8 when he heard commotion from the back. The Q400 can seat around 80 passengers. A SpiceJet spokesperson said the frame was fixed after landing, "in accordance with standard maintenance procedures".