Air India plane forced to make an emergency landing after its engine erupted into flames, with 179 passengers on board
Bengaluru late on Saturday night, the engine of an Air India Express aircraft carrying passengers from Pune to Kochi caught fire. This resulted in the plane's return and an emergency evacuation of its 179 passengers, who were left stranded in the Karnataka capital for almost thirteen hours. There were six crew members on IX-1132.
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In a matter of days, Air India had experienced two fire scares. Following a fire alert from its auxiliary power unit, one of its aircraft headed for Bengaluru was forced to return to Delhi on May 17. There were about 175 people on that aircraft.
Regarding the events on Saturday, an Air India Express representative informed TOI that no guests were hurt during the crew's successful evacuation. The official stated that a comprehensive investigation with the regulator would be carried out to determine the cause of the fire.
As to the statement provided by Bangalore International Airport Ltd (BIAL) spokesperson, «a full-scale emergency was declared and the fire was promptly extinguished upon landing». According to sources, the Directorate-General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) would look into things in addition to the airline's investigation.
We departed from Bengaluru at 10:50 p.m. We saw smoke coming from the engine at 11 p.m. Piyano Thomas one passenger who was in the plane stated that the aircraft had taken off from Pune at 8.20 p.m. rather than 7.40 p.m. The flight then turned back and landed in Bengaluru at 11.15 p.m.
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