'There was no sign of fire': Official shares what happened on Spicejet flight that caught fire mid-air

Many are left with terror and horror as the Spicejet flight had to make an emergency landing in Patna earlier today after one of its engines caught fire after take-off from the airport here and made an emergency landing minutes later.

The flight was bound for Delhi carrying nearly 200 passengers.

People shared their stories and emotions after every person on board safely got off the plane unhurt.

One of the Spicejet officials, Captain Gurcharan Arora, Chief of Flight Operations, speaking to NDTV said that initially, there was no sign of a fire in the cockpit. Only people on the ground and the Air Traffic Control (ATC) could see it.

Sharing what happened during and after the time of the incident, the official said, "there was a normal take-off. They heard a little thud on the left side. The little thud means normally suspicious, but there was no cockpit indication. Shortly after that, they got a call from the ATC saying they have detected smoke and flames from the left engine (engine number 1)."

There was no indication of the fire in the cockpit and it was seen only by people on the ground and the Air Traffic Control (ATC), Captain Gurcharan Arora, Chief of Flight Operations, SpiceJet told NDTV.

He added that during such incidents the pilots step by step shut down the suspect engine and then land ASAP (As Soon As Practical) at the nearest airport and that is what the pilots did.

"Usually, bird hits occur in the airframe. So, there's a small thud and no damage to the engine. Passenger airplanes are today made to withstand a lot of beating, they are very rugged and reliable - the airframe as well as the engine. So normally you wouldn't even get to know about it," NDTV quoted the officer.

The officer added, "Today was different because the bird hit was directly into the engine. Three fan blades were damaged. It resulted in smoke and flames. There was no indication in the cockpits which is a testimony to how rugged the engines are. They were running absolutely smoothly."

Many passengers shared their experience with media persons, with a mix of horror and relief.

"I had come to the airport groggy and dozed off before the plane took off. Within a few minutes, a judder woke me up. It was only after landing that I realised how lucky I was," recalled a young man.

"The entire plane was trembling. We were petrified and crew members were busy pacifying us. We were initially told that the plane would land at an airstrip in Bihta or Arrah. Thankfully, it landed at the airport itself,” said an elderly woman who also showered blessings on the pilot, whom she has not met, for showing the presence of mind.

(with NDTV and PTI inputs)