DGCA to probe turbulence on SpiceJet flight, says company official

After a Delhi-bound SpiceJet aircraft made an emergency landing at Patna airport following the reports of a fire in one of the engines, SpiceJet Limited's chief of flight operations, Gurcharan Arora informed that the pilots handled the situation well. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) will probe the matter.

"Pilots handled the situation well. Only single-engine was functioning when the plane landed back. Engineers inspected the aircraft. It was confirmed that the fan blade and engine were damaged as a bird hit it. DGCA will probe further," Arora said.

A SpiceJet Boeing 737 with about 185 people on board passengers returned safely to Patna soon after an emergency landing on Sunday afternoon following the reports of a fire in one of the engines.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) officials said that the plane (VT-SYZ), prima facie, was involved in air turnback as the cabin crew informed PIC about sparks coming out of the engine.

During the rotation, the cockpit crew suspected a bird hit on the engine. Later, the crew did not observe any abnormality and the flight resumed further climb.

"The flight returned back after a bird hit and due to one engine shut in the air, all on-board passengers safe," the officials added.

On Sunday afternoon, a Delhi-bound Spice Jet aircraft made an emergency landing at Patna airport after there were reports of a technical glitch which prompted fire inside the plane. All the passengers were safely rescued.

"The Delhi-bound flight had returned to Patna airport after locals noticed a fire in the aircraft and informed district and airport officials. All 185 passengers were safely deboarded. The reason is a technical glitch, engineering team analysing further," said Chandrashekhar Singh, Patna District Magistrate told media persons.

Taking note of the incident, Patna airport Director said that an alternate flight is being arranged by SpiceJet airlines.