IndiGo flight engine fails mid-air, leads to emergency on Kolkata airport runway. What happened next?
A full emergency was declared at a runway of Kolkata airport on Friday night after an engine of an IndiGo flight failed mid-air.
A full emergency was declared at a runway of Kolkata airport on Friday night after an engine of an IndiGo flight bound for Bengaluru failed mid-air. However, both runways were later cleared, and the aircraft made a safe landing.
All passengers and crew on board were unharmed.
As reported by The Times of India, citing airport sources, a passenger claimed to have seen fire in one of the engines, though there was no confirmation from either the airline or airport officials.
“All 173 on board, including crew, are safe,” an official said.
Here are the details of the incident
A passenger, Nilanjan Das, told The Times of India that shortly after take-off, he heard an unusual noise and saw flames streaking from one of the engines before the plane turned back towards Kolkata.
According to an airport official, the pilot of flight 6E 0573 reported an emergency engine failure just minutes after take-off, prompting a full emergency declaration at 10:39 pm. The runway was quickly inspected and made available for the pilot, allowing the aircraft to land from either direction.
The plane touched down safely on a single engine at 11:05 pm.
“An engine failure is a serious emergency. But it is not uncommon. Thankfully, the flight touched down safely,” an official was quoted as saying.
Similar incidents
Earlier in June, a passenger plane travelling from Queenstown to Melbourne made an emergency landing in Invercargill, New Zealand, after one of its engines caught fire, as reported by the New Zealand fire service. News agency PTI reported that the Virgin Australia Boeing 737-800 had to divert when a fire shut down an engine mid-air.
In March, a United Airlines Boeing aircraft bound for Florida made an emergency landing in Texas shortly after takeoff due to its jet engine catching fire. The incident was recorded, showing sparks coming from under the aircraft’s left wing near the passenger windows.
Last year, a Delhi-bound IndiGo flight from Patna had to make an emergency landing shortly after take-off due to an issue with one of its engines, officials reported. Anchal Prakash, the director of Patna airport, said that three minutes after the departure of the Airbus 320 (6E 2433), the flight reported one engine as inoperative, and the aircraft safely landed back.
(This is a developing story. Please check back for updates)
