Bird hit or technical fault? What led to mid-air fire on SpiceJet plane?
A SpiceJet Patna-Delhi flight made an emergency landing at Patna’s Jay Prakash Narayan International Airport on Sunday afternoon after a fire was reported on board. All passengers and crew – over 190 people in total, including two infants – are safe and no injuries have been reported. The cause of the fire is not yet known – it is believed it was either due to a bird hit or a technical fault.
Patna district magistrate Chandrashekhar Singh confirmed that the plane had landed safely ‘after smoke was noticed from one of the left engines… possibly after a bird hit or a technical fault’.
When did the plane take-off?
The plane – a fully-fuelled Boeing 737-800 – took off around noon from Patna airport. It was scheduled to reach Delhi’s Indira Gandhi airport at 1.30 pm.
