SpiceJet Aircraft Catches Fire During Engine Maintenance At Delhi Airport, No Casualties Reported

The incident occurred during routine engine maintenance, and immediate measures were taken to avert any casualties.

(Representational Image)

Source : Getty

A SpiceJet aircraft caught fire during engine maintenance works at Delhi airport, but the airline company assures that both the aircraft and maintenance personnel are safe. The incident occurred during routine engine maintenance, and immediate measures were taken to avert any casualties.

"On July 25, SpiceJet Q400 aircraft under maintenance, while carrying out engine ground run at idle power at bay, the AME (Aircraft Maintenance Engineer) observed fire warning on #1 engine," said a SpiceJet spokesperson. The aircraft fire extinguisher bottle was discharged. "As a precaution, the fire brigade was called. Aircraft and maintenance personnel safe."

An IndiGo plane declared an emergency at the Delhi airport in October of last year after one of its engines caught fire while taxiing. The 184-person A320 aircraft bound for Bengaluru later returned to the bay. On Twitter, a video showed one of the plane's engines on fire and sparks flying while taxiing at the airport.

IndiGo said in a statement that the aircraft flying flight 6E2131 from Delhi to Bengaluru experienced an engine stall during the take-off roll. "The take-off was aborted, and the aircraft returned to the bay safely. All passengers are being accommodated on an alternate aircraft," according to the statement.

In June of last year, a SpiceJet flight bound for Delhi with 185 passengers caught fire shortly after takeoff from Patna airport. Minutes later, the plane made an emergency landing. This was the second time in over a month that a SpiceJet plane returned to the gate just minutes after takeoff. On May 3, a SpiceJet Boeing 737-8 Max plane returned to Chennai just minutes after departing for Durgapur, West Bengal.

The SpiceJet flight took off from Patna airport shortly after noon, and local authorities soon received reports that it had caught fire.

 "Many people, mostly residents of the nearby Phulwari Sharif locality, began making frantic calls upon watching flames from the plane. Thankfully, all 185 occupants are safe," District Magistrate Chandrashekhar Singh told reporters at the airport.