On Friday night, a major emergency was declared at Kolkata airport’s runway after the engine of an IndiGo flight destined for Bengaluru failed in mid-air. However, both runways were later cleared, and the aircraft safely landed.
According to The Times of India, quoting airport sources, a passenger reported seeing fire in one of the engines, but neither the airline nor airport officials confirmed this. An official stated, “All 173 on board, including the crew, are safe.”
Nilanjan Das, a passenger, told The Times of India that soon after takeoff, he heard an unusual noise and observed flames shooting from one of the engines before the plane turned back towards Kolkata. According to an airport official, the pilot of flight 6E 0573 reported an emergency engine failure only minutes after takeoff, necessitating a full emergency declaration at 10:39 p.m. The runway was swiftly inspected and made available to the pilot, allowing the plane to land in any direction. At 11:05 p.m., the plane safely landed using a single engine.
An official quoted, “An engine failure is a serious emergency. But it is not uncommon. Thankfully, the flight touched down safely.”
Last year, an IndiGo flight from Patna to Delhi was forced to make an emergency landing shortly after takeoff due to an engine problem, according to officials. Anchal Prakash, the director of Patna Airport, stated that three minutes after the flight’s departure, the Airbus 320 (6E 2433) reported one engine as inoperative, and the aircraft successfully landed.