An Air India Express flight, travelling from Bengaluru to Kochi, made an “emergency landing” at the Bengaluru airport late Saturday night after a fire was reported in one of the engines of the aircraft.
According to a statement by the private carrier, all 179 passengers and six crew members were successfully evacuated from the aircraft after the landing.
The flight, IX 1132, landed at 11.12 pm at Bengaluru’s Kempegowda International Airport, minutes after take off from the airport after the onboard crew noticed a fire in the right engine and reported to the Air Traffic Controller (ATC), the statement said.
A “full-scale” emergency was declared, and the fire was extinguished immediately upon landing, it said.
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“Due to suspected flames from the right engine after takeoff, the Bengaluru- Kochi flight elected to return and carried out a precautionary landing at Bengaluru . The ground services also reported flames, resulting in an evacuation. The crew accomplished an evacuation with no injuries to any guests. We regret the inconvenience this has caused and are working to provide alternative arrangements for our guests to reach their destination as soon as possible [sic],” the airport said in a statement.
“A thorough investigation with the regulator shall be accomplished to establish the cause,” it added.
Earlier in the day, another Bengaluru-bound Air India Express flight with about 137 passengers made an “emergency landing” in Tamil Nadu’s Tiruchirappalli following a technical glitch.
Source Agencies
