Air India Boeing 787 Dreamliner windscreen cracks on landing in Melbourne

IN the latest incident involving a Boeing 787, the windshield of an Air India plane cracked as it landed at Melbourne Airport.

An Air India 787 Dreamliner arrives in Melbourne. Picture: Angie Basdekis

AN Air India Dreamliner windshield has cracked while landing in Australia, an airline official says, the latest in a string of mishaps the aircraft has suffered in recent times.

The Delhi-Melbourne-Sydney-Delhi flight, carrying 74 passengers, developed a crack late on Sunday while landing in Melbourne, Air India spokesman Praveen Bhatnagar said.

"The cockpit windscreen developed a crack while landing. It was a small incident. The windscreen has already been replaced," said Mr Bhatnagar, adding that there was no risk to the safety of passengers.

While all passengers were transferred to another flight to Delhi, Air India flew in a new windshield from India to replace the cracked one.

Air India Dreamliner touched down in Australia in September after a 16-year gap, marking the resumption of direct flights to Australia.

However, the Air India Boeing 787 Dreamliner fleet has been suffering technical glitches of late, including an incident where the fuselage panel of a jet fell off last month while landing in the southern city of Bangalore.

The Dreamliner has encountered several serious difficulties since entering operation two years ago, especially with its batteries, causing the entire fleet to be grounded for about four months earlier this year.

But Air India dismissed any claims of technical glitches on the Melbourne-bound flight.

"It was no aircraft glitch. This may have happened due to rapid change in temperatures or some other particles on the windscreen while landing," said Mr Bhatnagar.

Scandinavian operator Norwegian Air Shuttle has also criticised the plane's reliability after it found a flaw in the electrical system.