CHENNAI: An Air India Express flight bound for Calicut from Abu Dhabi was forced to make an emergency landing back at Abu Dhabi airport on Friday after a flame was detected in one of the engines while taking off.
The pilot of flight IX348 decided to turn back after noticing the flame.
Air India Express later informed the media that the aircraft landed smoothly at the Abu Dhabi airport with all the passengers safe and sound.
A total of 184 passengers were onboard when one of the engines developed a technical issue and caught fire according to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation in a statement said Air India Express B737-800 aircraft VT-AYC operating flight IX 348 (Abu Dhabi-Calicut) was involved in an air turnback due to an engine flameout.
"The fire was detected in one of the engines at 1,000 feet above sea level during the climb," said the DGCA.
In another similar incident that occurred on 23 January, an Air India Express flight from Trivandrum to Muscat suffered from a technical glitch. Once it was detected, the flight immediately landed around 45 minutes after take off.
Apart from engine flameouts and technical setbacks, in December 2022, a snake was found in a Dubai-bound Air India Express flight. But this came out only when the flight had already landed the Dubai airport. The aviation regulatory body initiated a probe into the matter.