Pune: It was a terrifying situation when one of the engines on an Air India Express flight (IX-1132) from Pune to Kochi caught fire shortly after departure, leaving passengers from Pune stranded. After leaving Bengaluru at 10:50 p.m. with more than 175 passengers on board, the Airbus A320 was forced to make an emergency landing ten minutes later.

The right engine made a tremendous noise that was immediately followed by flames, according to the passengers. The plane returned to Bengaluru as a precaution and touched down safely at 11:15 p.m., but panic broke out. A number of passengers suffered minor injuries during the evacuation process while emergency slides were deployed.

The aircraft had taken off from Pune at 8:20 p.m. and arrived in Bengaluru at 9:50 p.m., after which it took off once more for Kochi. As fire crews arrived at the site after the emergency landing, passengers were told to walk swiftly towards the fields close to the runway. During the emergency evacuation, a passenger reported that a few others had minor injuries. The airline provided buses to take the passengers to the terminal building after around twenty minutes. 

It took about eleven hours for the passengers who were stuck at the Bengaluru airport to be able to board a substitute plane. All the passengers were able to arrive in Kochi around 12:10 pm on Sunday after the airline was able to arrange for a substitute aircraft at around 11:20 am.