One of the engines caught on fire during take-off, the video showed.
New Delhi:
An IndiGo aircraft was grounded at the Delhi airport after one of its engines caught fire on Friday night, seconds before taking off for Bengaluru.
All passengers and crew onboard IndiGo flight 6E-2131 are safe, the Delhi Police said. There were 184 people on board the Airbus A-320 aircraft.
The incident took place around 9:45 pm and the passengers were not immediately evacuated. The passengers got off the plane after 11 pm and accommodated on another flight around midnight.
One of the passengers, Priyanka Kumar, posted a video of the incident on Twitter, which showed one of the engines on fire and sending off sparks.
The video indicated that the fire went out within moments. NDTV has also learned that the pilots on board the aircraft did not discharge fire extinguishers in the right engine of the aircraft.
“The flight would have taken off in five to seven seconds. Suddenly, I saw massive sparks coming off the wings, and it turned into a major fire. And the plane was stopped immediately. The pilot informed us there was some malfunction with the engine,” Priyanka Kumar told NDTV on the phone.
“We are still in the plane. The situation is under control. The fire brigade came. The plane has been taken to a parking bay. And IndiGo is arranging another aircraft for us,” Ms Kumar said around 11 pm.
“There was a panic initially, but the crew made us feel comfortable. Gave us water. There were a lot of elderly people and kids around… everybody is safe, there was no jerk-stopping,” she added.
In a statement, IndiGo said, “An aircraft operating flight 6E2131 from Delhi to Bangalore experienced an engine stall during take-off roll. The take-off was aborted, and the aircraft safely returned to the bay.”
“All passengers are being accommodated on an alternate aircraft. We regret the inconvenience caused to the passengers,” it added.