Air India Express flight from Abu Dhabi to Calicut in Kerala was forced to make an emergency landing after the engine burst into flames during take-off. According to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, flames were found in one engine of the Abu Dhabi-Calicut flight soon after take-off on Friday. As a result, the flight returned to Abu Dhabi Airport. According to Air India Express, all passengers arrived safely and without incident. According to the DGCA, there were 184 passengers on board the aircraft when it took off.
“Soon after take off and climbing to an altitude of 1,000 feet, the pilot detected an engine fire and decided to return to Abu Dhabi airport,” Air India Express told ANI. DGCA said that “Air India Express B737-800 aircraft returned to Abu Dhabi airport due to mid-air fire.”
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Today an Air India Express B737-800 aircraft VT-AYC operating flight IX 348 (Abu Dhabi-Calicut) was involved in airturnback due to No. 1 engine fire at 1,000 feet during climb,” DGCA said.
Earlier on January 23, an Air India Express flight from Trivandrum to Muscat turned back 45 minutes after take-off due to a technical glitch, officials said.
According to officials, there was a technical glitch in the Flight Management System (FMS). In December 2022, a snake was found in the flight of Air India Express going to Dubai.
The Air India Express Boeing B-737 flight from Calicut to Dubai took off as per schedule and after landing at the Dubai airport, staff reported a snake on board. The aviation body said that the aviation regulatory body, Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had ordered a detailed inquiry in connection with the incident.
(With ANI inputs)