Video: Delhi-bound SpiceJet Flight with 185 Passengers Catches Fire Mid-air, Makes Emergency Landing at Patna Airport

Delhi-bound SpiceJet flight returned to Patna airport after catching fires mid-air after engine issues in the aircraft on Sunday, informed Airport officials.

Written by: India.com News Desk Edited by: Rajashree Seal

Updated: June 19, 2022, 5:30 PM IST

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Delhi-Bound SpiceJet Flight Returns to Patna as Engine Catches Fire After Takeoff, All Passengers Safe

New Delhi: A major tragedy was averted after a Delhi-bound SpiceJet flight SG 723 caught fire mid-air due to certain issues in the engine on Sunday. The flight with 185 passengers onboard was then returned to Patna airport, informed Airport officials. No injuries or casualties have been reported yet. The flight was on its way to New Delhi from Patna’s Jayprakash Narayan International Airport.

“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.

Several videos shot by locals have started circulating on social media. The videos show sparks coming out from the left engine of the SpiceJet aircraft.

WATCH: 

Baal Baal Bache : Fire in engine of Patna-Delhi #Spicejet SG723. Bird strike in engine overhead #Phulwari. #Patna pic.twitter.com/qoUs3WJ7P6

— Mumbai (@InfoMumbai) June 19, 2022

Patna Airport Director also said, “SpiceJet flight from Patna to Delhi was reported to have fire in one engine. The flight landed safely, and all 183 passengers and two infants have deboarded safely.” An alternate flight is being arranged by SpiceJet airlines. This incident is a matter of investigation, he added.

However, DGCA informed that the flight returned back after “bird hit” and due to one engine shut in the air, all on-board passengers safe. Meanwhile, addressing the issue, a SpiceJet spokesperson said, “Cockpit crew of Patna-Delhi SpiceJet flight after take-off during rotation suspected bird hit on engine no. 1. As a precautionary measure, flight captain shut down affected engine and returned to Patna. Post flight inspection shows bird hit with 3 fan blades damaged.”

As per TV reports, owing to the mid-air scare, all operations at the Patna airport have been suspended. The passengers of the Delhi-bound flight will depart from Patna in another flight at 3 pm today.

SpiceJet Plane To Delhi Catches Fire: How Things Unfolded

• A SpiceJet Boeing 737 with about 200 people on board returned to Patna soon after take off on Sunday.
• The Airport got calls from locals after they spotted fire in one of the engines.
• Captain Monica Khanna, the pilot in command (PIC) of flight SG 723, switched off the affected engine and returned safely to Patna.
• The Pilot carried out an overweight landing at the highly constrained Patna airfield
• About the Patna air turnback (return after taking off), a senior DGCA official said: “The cabin crew informed the pilot in command (PIC) about sparks coming out of engine number one. During (take off), cockpit crew had suspected bird hit on engine 1. Since they did not observe any abnormality, the aircraft continued further climb.”