Chennai-Abu Dhabi Flight Carrying 280 Passengers Grounded After 'Fire' Breaks Out On Wing

An Abu-Dhabi bound Etihad Airways flight was cancelled in Chennai after fire broke out on its left wing before take-off. All 280 passengers were evacuated successfully.

An Etiihad Airways plane was grounded after fire on its left wing.

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An Etihad Airways flight bound for Abu Dhabi carrying around 280 passengers was forced to abort its journey on Monday after a fire was detected on the aircraft’s left wing.

The aircraft was preparing for take-off from Chennai when the pilots noticed signs of fire on the wing and immediately halted departure procedures, news agency PTI reported, citing airport officials.

All passengers on board were safely evacuated from the aircraft, and no injuries were reported in the incident, officials added.

Fire Service personnel rushed to the spot and quickly extinguished the blaze. Following the incident, the flight was cancelled as a precautionary measure.

Airport authorities have not yet disclosed the cause of the fire, and further investigation into the incident is underway.

Turkish Airlines Plane Suffers Tyre Fire During Landing

A Turkish Airlines flight arriving from Istanbul caught fire on its right-side landing gear while touching down at Tribhuvan International Airport early Monday, prompting an emergency evacuation of all passengers and crew members, ANI reported.

The aircraft, operating as flight TK726 from Istanbul to Kathmandu, experienced the incident during landing. Airport emergency teams quickly responded and brought the fire under control using fire engines, police confirmed.

“The aircraft with call sign TK726 was en route to Kathmandu from Istanbul, and the tyre had caught fire while landing. Using the fire engine, it has been contained. All the passengers are safely evacuated,” airport security official SP Rajkumar Silawal told ANI over phone.

According to officials, the aircraft was carrying 278 passengers and 11 crew members, including several United Nations personnel. No injuries were reported in the incident.

Videos circulating on social media showed flames erupting from the aircraft’s right landing gear, accompanied by thick grey smoke, as passengers were evacuated through emergency exits.

Neither the airport authorities nor Turkish Airlines had issued an official statement till the filing of this report, and the exact cause of the fire remains under investigation.

This is not the first time a Turkish Airlines aircraft has been involved in an incident at Kathmandu airport. In 2015, another TK726 flight from Istanbul skidded off the runway at the fog-covered airport and veered into a grassy area during landing.

The incident had forced the airport to shut operations for four days. Preliminary findings at the time indicated that the Airbus A330 missed the runway centreline due to the captain’s loss of situational awareness during the final approach.

That aircraft had 224 people on board, and although no injuries were reported, passengers had to be evacuated through emergency exits.