Kolkata, Nov 30 (IANS): President Pratibha Patil's flight to Pune was delayed here Wednesday after the pilot detected a technical problem in the cockpit panel, with the nation's first citizen on board, officials said.

The pilot noticed the problem minutes before the take off for Pune at 10.20 a.m., according to an airport source.

The aircraft was taxied back to the tarmac and senior airport officials and Indian Air Force staff rushed and carried out thorough checking before giving the nod for it to fly, the source said.

Patil remained seated in the plane while it was undergoing checks.

The flight finally left the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport for Pune at 11.15 a.m., 55 minutes behind schedule.

"The flight was taxing when there were some indications that needed technical confirmation. So the plane was brought back to the tarmac, and checked to ascertain everything was all right. It was just a precautionary measure," Archana Dutta, officer on special duty (public relations) to the president, told IANS over phone.