A Fly Dubai plane carrying nearly 150 people reported a fire in one of its engines shortly after taking off from Tribhuvan International Airport of Nepal's capital Kathmandu on Monday (April 24). According to the airline spokesperson, the plane on its way to Dubai returned and was attempting to force land at the airport due to a bird strike during takeoff from Kathmandu. There were more than 150 passengers on board, including 50 Nepalese.
According to a video posted on Twitter by NextaTv, the Dubai-bound flight caught fire mid-air. The video shows the flight catching fire in the air. The caption of the video post read: "A Fly Dubai plane caught fire while taking off from Kathmandu Airport. The media write that the plane is trying to land."
Soon after, the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal reported that Fly Dubai flight 576 (Boeing 737-800) from Kathmandu to Dubai is operating normally and is on its way to its destination in Dubai as planned. "From 1614 UTC (09:59pm local time), Kathmandu airport operations will resume," it added.
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"The aircraft switched off its engine for some time after encountering the problem and is now heading towards the destination without landing at Kathmandu airport," the Deputy Director of Nepal's Civil Aviation Authority was quoted as saying by a private television news channel.
The plane took off from Tribhuvan International Airport at 9:20 am. Sudan Kirati, Minister of Culture, Tourism, and Civil Aviation, announced on Facebook that the FlyDubai plane was safely flying to its destination and urged everyone not to be concerned.