It could have ended differently. A pilot on a commercial flight that took off for New Delhi with 185 passengers on board was forced to make an emergency landing after the engine caught fire.
The plane, operated by SpiceJet, returned to its runway and landed back at the airport in Fanta in eastern India, from where it took off. “All 185 passengers were safely unloaded. The cause of the fire was a technical malfunction and the engineering team is investigating what was the source,” an airline representative said.
The plane’s engine caught fire a few minutes after takeoff (Photo: Tiktok)
One of the passengers said that a loud explosion came from the wing of the plane only about 15 minutes after takeoff: “The pilot announced that there was a malfunction and that we were returning to the ground. It was scary,” the passenger said.
The Civil Aviation Administration (DGCA) explained that a bird is the source of the malfunction, and the airline made headlines this week regarding safety violations. Authorities in India have imposed a $ 12,000 fine after it was discovered that SpiceJet had trained the pilots on a faulty simulator.