Mumbai, Nov 29: At least 426 passengers of an Air-India plane (AI 145) had to undergo a harrowing time as the flight from here to Newark via Paris left 34 hours behind schedule this evening due to a major engineering snag. The passengers were accommodated in hotels where one of them, an Indian holding a US passport, Satish Uppal was rushed to a hospital after complaining of uneasiness, died late last night, airport officials said.

Uppal, who was travelling with his wife was transferred to a city hospital after he was medicated by the hotel doctors.

Arrangements are now being made for Uppal's wife to fly to Newark tomorrow along with her husband's body. The flight had to leave yesterday at 7 45 am and it finally took off at 5 pm today.

Airport sources said the delayed flight would have a repurcussion on both incoming and outgoing flights to Newark for the next two days.

The Boeing 747-400, a leased aircraft from Korean airlines, initially had to undergo an engine change after some "nicks" were found on the engine blade.
There was, however, some "mismatch" between the leased aircraft and the new engine that had to be replaced, which resulted in a further delay.

Bureau Report