Kolkata: A full-scale emergency was reported on the airport runway at Kolkata on Friday night after an IndiGo flight impacting Bengaluru had a mid-air engine blow. The episode caused quite a stir by the airport management, who was forced to clear both runways for a possible emergency landing. Fortunately, the aircraft was able to touch the ground safely, and no one was seriously injured or killed among the passengers or the crew members.
The aircraft involved in the incident was established to be flight 6E 0573, which was in the process of taking off from Kolkata when the pilot raised a major alarm about the engine failure. An airport official said the emergency was declared at 10:39 pm, less than five minutes after the plane had taken off. The pilot’s alertness helped the unwanted episode to take place when the aircraft carrying 173, including the crew members, had to return to the Airport in Kolkata safely.
A journalist in a news agency reported that a passenger, Nilanjan Das, said that he heard a strange sound a few minutes after the IndiGo plane had taken off. He also said he saw flames emanating from one of the engines, which made the atmosphere even tenser on the plane. However the situation was critical, it became possible to return to Kolkata direction and land the aircraft on one engine at 11:05 pm.
As reported by the news agency, people who work in the airport claimed that some passengers had seen fire in one of the engines. Still, Laker Airways and the managing body of the aforesaid airport have no concrete confirmation on this aspect.
Airport authorities immediately went out to check the runway whenever there was an announcement of an emergency for the incoming flight. One of the airline’s officials commented: ‘An engine failure is a severe situation; however, it happens from time to time. Fortunately, the flight was able to land safely. ’
Perhaps all the concern was because the landing was a success and a relief to all concerned parties because of the professionalism exhibited by the crew and the quick response by the airport in tackling the matter. As seen earlier, the fire was stopped and put out rather fast by everyone on the scene, so there were no losses.
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