Patna: Passengers come out of the Delhi-bound SpiceJet plane following its emergency landing after it caught fire mid-air
Highlights
- SpiceJet praised its pilot Monica Khanna and its first officer Balpreet Singh Bhatia
- The airline said both the pilots were calm throughout and handled the aircraft well
- DGCA will investigate the incident further, SpiceJet said
SpiceJet Chief of Flight Operations, also known as the Head of Pilots, appealed to all passengers to 'be proud of its pilots and have faith in them' as they are 'well-trained'. The development comes a day after the Patna-Delhi SpiceJet plane with around 185 passengers on board made an emergency landing in Patna after its wing caught fire.
"I appeal to all the passengers to have faith in all the SpiceJet pilots. They all are well-trained. The way SpiceJet pilots handled the situation in Patna, it was well-managed and is a matter of pride for us," Gurucharan Arora, who is leading the SpiceJet pilots, told news agency ANI on Sunday.
"SpiceJet has capable and trained pilots to handle any eventuality peacefully and for that, all passengers should proud of them," Captain Arora said.
SpiceJet praised its pilot Monica Khanna and its first officer Balpreet Singh Bhatia for carrying out a safe landing with a single-engine at the Patna airport after the incident.
"Captain Monica Khanna and first officer Balpreet Singh Bhatia conducted themselves well during the incident. They were calm throughout and handled the aircraft well. When the plane landed, only a single engine was working. Engineers inspected the aircraft after the incident. It was confirmed that the fan blade and engine had been damaged by a bird hit. DGCA will investigate further. They are experienced officers and we are proud of them," said Captain Arora.
Both the pilots have joined the investigation which is being conducted by the DGCA and internally by SpiceJet. Meanwhile, they are not deployed for flight operations for a few days as per the company's Standard Operating Procedures.
SpiceJet flight's engine catches fire: All what happened
SpiceJet Boeing 737, which had taken off from Patna to Delhi on Sunday, returned after some passengers reported of engine fire. The flight was carrying 185 passengers, all of whom were reported safe upon landing. As per the airline, the engine was reported following a bird hit.
"Flames were seen on the left wing of the aircraft. It landed immediately. Two blades were bent. People of Phulwari Sharif saw the flames and alerted the airport authorities," said the Patna District Magistrate, Chandrashekhar Singh.
In a separate incident of emergency landing yesterday, another SpiceJet aircraft, a Bombardier Q400 Dash 8, developed a cabin pressurisation issue after departure from Delhi.
As the aircraft climbed out of Delhi, the pilots noted that the cabin pressure did not build up in line with the altitude gain. Following this, the crew decided to return and the aircraft landed safely in Delhi.
(With inputs from ANI)
