SpiceJet says bird-hit damaged 3 fan blades of Delhi-bound plane travelling from Patna

A major accident was averted on Sunday after a Delhi-bound SpiceJet flight made an emergency landing at the Jay Prakash Narayan Airport in Patna after catching fire mid-flight. The SG725 flight was forced to land after its left engine caught fire and all 185 passengers were rescued. Following this, SpiceJet has now issued a statement confirming damage to engine no. 1 of the flight due to a bird hit.

In an official statement, the spokesperson for SpiceJet said that the flight captain shut down the affected engine and returned to the land as a precautionary measure. "On June 19, 2022, SpiceJet B737-800 aircraft was operating SG-723 (Patna-Delhi). On take-off, during rotation, the cockpit crew suspected a bird hit Engine #1. As a precautionary measure and as per SOP, the Captain shut down the affected engine and decided to return to Patna,” the statement said.

“The aircraft landed safely in Patna and passengers were safely deboarded. Post-flight inspection showed the bird hit with 3 fan blades damaged," SpiceJet spokesperson added. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has also confirmed that the flight returned to the Patna airport after a bird hit that led to the failure of Engine 1 of the aircraft.  

SpiceJet flight caught fire due to bird hit: DGCA

Hours after the Delhi-bound SpiceJet flight made an emergency landing at the Patna airport, the DGCA issued a statement regarding the incident, revealing the cause of the fire. As per the statement, the flight had to return after it was hit by a bird, after which, one of the engines stopped working mid-air, prompting the flight to return back. 

After the flight took off in the morning and at around 12:10 PM, the authorities noticed that its left engine had caught fire. Notably, incidents of bird hits have been rising despite making several attempts to keep birds away from flight routes. In cases of bird strikes on runways, it prompts the aircraft to apply emergency brakes, while on the other hand, planes have to opt for an emergency landing in case it is in the air. 

(Image: ANI)