An Air India flight carrying 160 passengers made an emergency landing in Delhi due to a suspected engine fire, highlighting safety concerns in air travel.
Key Points
- All 160 passengers and crew members on board the Air India flight were reported safe after the emergency landing.
- The Air India crew followed standard operating procedures, ensuring a safe landing at Delhi airport.
- Another Air India aircraft experienced a tail strike during landing at Bengaluru airport, prompting a detailed inspection.
An Air India aircraft from Bengaluru, with 160 passengers on board, made an emergency landing at the Delhi airport due to suspected engine fire on Thursday evening, sources said.
The crew followed all standard operating procedures and landed the aircraft safely at the Delhi airport.
All passengers and crew were safe and disembarked normally, the airline said in a statement.
The A320 aircraft was operating the flight AI2802 from Bengaluru to Delhi.
"During the aircraft's final approach into Delhi, the cockpit crew received a fire indication from one of the engines. The indication was subsequently confirmed as true," the statement said.
One of the sources said it was yet to be confirmed whether there was fire in the engine.
The sources said there were 160 passengers and crew on board the aircraft.
Information available with flight tracking website Flightradar24.com showed that the plane landed at around 9.30 pm.
Air India said it was immediately initiating a full investigation into the cause of the incident in coordination with the relevant regulatory authorities.
"We are committed to sharing further verified information as soon as it becomes available," it added.
AI tail strike incident in Bengaluru
Earlier in the day, another An Air India aircraft, with 181 passengers onboard, suffered a tail strike during landing at the Bengaluru airport on Thursday morning and the plane has been grounded for a detailed inspection.
The airline's narrow-body A321 aircraft was operating the flight AI2651 from Delhi to Bengaluru.
An Air India spokesperson said the plane "experienced a tail-strike during landing".
The aircraft landed safely, and all passengers and crew disembarked normally, the spokesperson said.
A source said the plane experienced "wake turbulence" when it was close to land, following which the pilot decided to perform a go around manoeuvre. During the manoeuvre, there was a tail strike, the source added.
The "wake turbulence" was caused due to the take-off of a wide-body aircraft in the vicinity, the source said.
Specific details about the wide-body plane could not be ascertained.
The source said there were 181 passengers onboard the aircraft that operated the flight AI2651.
The Air India spokesperson said the plane has been grounded for detailed inspection and the incident will be investigated in accordance with established procedures, in coordination with the relevant regulatory authorities.
"As a result, the return flight AI2652 from Bengaluru to Delhi has been cancelled. Alternative arrangements are being made to accommodate affected passengers at the earliest.
"Our ground teams in Bengaluru are providing all necessary assistance," the spokesperson said and regretted the inconvenience caused to the passengers.
Information from flight tracking website Flightradar24.com showed the flight was operated with an A321 aircraft.
According to the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) website, "wake turbulence" is a function of an aircraft producing lift, resulting in the formation of two counter-rotating vortices trailing behind the aircraft.
