PATNA: As many as 185 passengers of a Delhi-bound SpiceJet flight had a narrow escape on Sunday as one of the aircraft’s engines caught fire shortly after take-off following a suspected bird hit. Flight SG-723 took off from Patna airport at 12.04 pm. According to airport officials, “soon after the take-off, the pilot noticed there was an engine problem as the wing started emitting smoke and flames and loud noises.”
The pilot promptly turned off the engine and contacted Air Traffic Control to make an emergency landing.
The Boeing 737 landed in Patna at 12.22 pm, 18 minutes after it took off. “The flight landed safely and all 185 passengers, including two infants, de-boarded safely. A full emergency was declared at the airport and the situation was dealt with effectively,” airport director Atul Prakash informed.
According to Patna district magistrate Chandrashekhar Singh, people living close to the airport alerted the district administration and the airport authorities after they noticed smoke coming out of the plane. The airport administration alerted the ATC, who radioed it to the pilot. The pilot, however, was aware of the situation by then. After receiving the clearance from Air Traffic Controller, the pilot landed the plane on one engine. The fire was doused soon after landing and there is no serious damage to the fuselage.
After de-boarding, passengers shared their experiences. “I have never gotten so scared in my life,” one of them said. “We felt tremors inside the flight soon after it took off from the airport and raised an alarm. But the cabin crew asked us to keep quiet,” another said.
The post-landing flight inspection showed that three fan blades of the jet’s left engine were damaged in the suspected bird hit. The airport director said the airline made an alternative arrangement for stranded passengers to reach their destination.
Viral vid shows fire beneath left wing
A video shot from inside the aircraft shows sparks from under the left wing of the plane. A DGCA official confirmed the validity of the video. This is the second time in over a month that a SpiceJet aircraft had to turn back after a snag within minutes of its take off.