New Delhi, Jan. 16 -- An Air India Airbus A350 aircraft operating a Delhi-New York flight sustained engine damage on Thursday morning after sucking in a cargo container while taxiing at Delhi's Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport, forcing the plane to be grounded, officials aware of the matter said.

The incident occurred at around 5.25am. The aircraft, registered VT-JRB and operating flight AI101 to New York's JFK, had already been forced to return to Delhi due to the sudden closure of Iranian airspace.

After landing safely, while taxiing to the apron in dense fog, its right engine (Engine 2) ingested a loose cargo container left on the taxiway, causing damage to the engine.

When a jet engine ingests a foreign object - known as F...