A SpiceJet flight, carrying 185 passengers, made an emergency landing at Patna airport after one of its engines caught fire due to a bird hit. The Delhi-bound flight landed safely with no injury to passengers and crew.
#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
Chandrashekhar Singh, Patna District Magistrate said, as reported by ANI, "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 analysing further."
According to PTI, the SpiceJet B737-800 aircraft took off at around 12.10 pm, and residents of localities adjacent to the airport, who claimed to have witnessed the spectacle, said it caught fire immediately.
SpiceJet, in a statement, said the cockpit crew on takeoff, during rotation, suspected a bird hit on Engine No. 1. Since the crew did not observe any abnormality, the aircraft continued to fly.
The SpiceJet VT-SYZ operating SG-723 landed safely back to Patna after the cabin crew informed pilots about sparks coming from Engine one. Following the engine failure protocol, the pilot decided to return to Patna.
"None of the passengers has been hurt. Their journey to Delhi is being arranged by an alternative aircraft. What caused the fire is a matter of investigation," an official told reporters.
(Edited by : Nishtha Pandey, Priyanka Deshpande)
