HONG KONG (AP) — An Air India flight returned to Hong Kong on Monday shortly after takeoff due to a midair technical issue, days after another of the airline's flights crashed and killed at least 270 people.
Air India said in a statement that the New Delhi-bound plane landed in Hong Kong safely and was undergoing checks “as a matter of abundant precaution.” Airport Authority Hong Kong said in a separate statement that flight AI315 returned to the southern Chinese city’s airport around 1 p.m.
The plane was a Boeing 787 Dreamliner, the same model as the London-bound flight that struck a medical college hostel in a residential area of the northwestern Indian city of Ahmedabad minutes after takeoff on Thursday. The crash killed 241 people on board and at least 29 on the ground. One passenger survived.
The flag carrier of India said alternative arrangements have been made to fly the affected passengers to their destination at the earliest convenience.
Roy reported from New Delhi. Associated Press video journalist Alice Fung in Hong Kong contributed to the report.
FILE - An Air India Boeing 787 Dreamliner performs its demonstration flight during the 50th Paris Air Show at Le Bourget airport, north of Paris, on June 18, 2013. (AP Photo/Francois Mori, File)
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Six-time IndyCar champion Scott Dixon was awarded a knighthood Wednesday in New Zealand's New Year honors list.
“I’ve been called a lot of things, but I never thought that ‘Sir’ was going to be one of them," Dixon said. "That was kind of crazy. Totally out of the blue ... You automatically go back to the start like the first time driving a go-kart and then all the rest of the memories happened at warp speed.”
Scott Ronald Glyndwr Dixon, now a Knight Commander of the New Zealand Order of Merit, was born in Australia to New Zealand-born parents who later returned to live in Auckland.
Dixon, who won the Indianapolis 500 in 2008, received the knighthood for services to motor sport. The Chip Ganassi Racing driver was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 2024.
“Sir Scott is a hero to young New Zealand motor sport fans and his work fundraising for children's charities is invaluable,” New Zealand's Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said.
Dixon won karting titles in Australia and New Zealand before heading to the United States where he raced in Indy Lights and CART series before moving to IndyCar in 2003.
“It’s all about outside racing giving back to the community and the partnerships you make away from the track and causes you get involved in," Dixon said.
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FILE - Scott Dixon celebrates winning the IndyCar Detroit Grand Prix auto race in Detroit, Sunday, June 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya, File)
