Delhi-bound SpiceJet Flight With 185 Aboard Catches Fire Mid-air: What We Know So Far
Aviation regulator DGCA sources said that a bird hit prompted fire in one engine of the aircraft. The pilots then shut down the engine as per the procedure and landed safely at Patna airport, they said.
A major tragedy was averted after Delhi-bound Spicejet aircraft, carrying 185 passengers, had caught fire in the left engine following a bird hit, officials have said. No injuries or casualties have been reported yet.
What happened
The incident happened right after the plane took-off from Patna but soon had to make an emergency landing back at the same airport. The SpiceJet flight SG 723 was on its way to New Delhi from Patna¡¯s Jayprakash Narayan International Airport.
Videos shot by locals on the ground show sparks coming out from the left engine.
Baal Baal Bache : Fire in engine of Patna-Delhi #Spicejet SG723. Bird strike in engine overhead #Phulwari. #Patna pic.twitter.com/qoUs3WJ7P6
¡ª Mumbai (@InfoMumbai) June 19, 2022
Who said what
Aviation regulator DGCA sources said that a bird hit prompted fire in one engine of the aircraft. The pilots then shut down the engine as per the procedure and landed safely at Patna airport, they said.
Reuters
¡°The Delhi-bound flight had returned to Patna airport after locals noticed a fire in the aircraft and informed district and airport officials. All 185 passengers were safely deboarded. The reason is a technical glitch, engineering team analyzing further,¡± Chandrashekhar Singh, Patna District Magistrate told media persons.
All passengers were safely evacuated
#WATCH Delhi bound SpiceJet flight returns to Patna airport after reporting technical glitch which prompted fire in the aircraft; All passengers safely rescued pic.twitter.com/Vvsvq5yeVJ
¡ª ANI (@ANI) June 19, 2022
All passengers were safely evacuated and there has been no report of any injury, said Manavjit Singh Dhillon, Senior Superintendent of Police, Patna Police.
SpiceJet mired in controversy
The SpiceJet airline has been the subject of many security-related incidents.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) last month imposed a fine of Rs 10 lakh on the flight carrier for training its Boeing 737 Max aircraft's pilots on a faulty simulator as it could have adversely impacted flight safety.
In April, the DGCA had barred 90 SpiceJet pilots from operating the Max aircraft after finding them not properly trained.
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