All passengers on board the Delhi to Bengaluru IndiGo flight 6E-2131 are safe, said the airline.
New Delhi: An IndiGo aircraft was grounded at the Delhi airport after a video showed one of its engines caught fire on Friday night, seconds before taking off for Bengaluru.
All passengers and crew members onboard IndiGo flight 6E-2131 are safe, the Delhi Police said. There were 184 people on board the Airbus A-320 aircraft.
The incident took place at around 9:45 pm and the passengers were not immediately evacuated. The passengers got off from the plane after 11 pm and accommodated on another flight around midnight.
One of the passengers, Priyanka Kumar, posted a video clip of the incident on Twitter, which showed one of the engines on fire and sending off sparks.
The video indicated that the fire went out within moments.
IndiGo arranged another flight for the passengers safely
Aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation’s (DGCA) preliminary report said that the pilot used the fire extinguisher in the engine. The DGCA has said a detailed probe will be carried out into the incident and suitable action will be taken.
“On 28-10-2022 indigo A320-Ceo aircraft VT-IFM operating flight 6E-2131 (Delhi-Bangalore) was involved in reject takeoff as Engine 2 Failed warning came. Loud bang was being heard. Fire extinguisher bottle was discharged. Aircraft returned to bay. It has been grounded for inspection,” the DGCA said.
“The flight would have taken off in five to seven seconds. Suddenly, I saw massive sparks coming off the wings of the plane, and turned into a major fire. And the plane was stopped immediately. The pilot informed us there was some malfunction with the engine, “We are still in the plane. The situation is under control. The fire brigade came. The plane has been taken to a parking bay. And IndiGo is arranging another aircraft for us,” Ms Kumar said around 11 pm.
“There was a panic initially, but the crew members made us feel comfortable. Gave us water. There were a lot of elderly people and kids around… everybody is safe, there was no jerk-stopping,” she added.
In a statement, IndiGo said, “An aircraft operating flight 6E2131 from Delhi to Bangalore experienced an engine stall during take-off roll. The take-off was aborted, and the aircraft safely returned to the bay.”
“All passengers are being accommodated on an alternate aircraft. We regret the inconvenience caused to the passengers,” it added.
