Bengaluru-bound IndiGo plane's engine catches fire at Delhi airport; probe ordered

A Bengaluru-bound IndiGo flight had to be grounded at Delhi airport due to a suspected spark in the aircraft. The take-off of IndiGo flight 6E-2131 was aborted after an engine flameout and all passengers were taken out.

However, no one received any injury and all 177 passengers and seven crew members are reportedly safe.

Calling her ordeal a 'scary experience', a passenger, who was on board during the incident, shared a video on Twitter.

In videos that are being widely shared on social media, flames can be seen coming out from the parts near the engine of the aircraft as passengers cry for help amid turbulence.

Sources at the Indira Gandhi International Airport said at 22.08 hours the airport control room received a call from the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) Control room regarding a fire problem in the engine of flight No 6E 2131 from Delhi to Bengaluru. They said the aircraft was carrying 177 passengers and seven crew members. The plan had just started on the runway for take-off.

The Union Ministry of Civil Aviation has ordered a probe into the matter.

Soon after the incident took place, IndiGo Airlines issued a presser stating, "An aircraft operating flight 6E2131 from Delhi to Bangalore experienced a technical issue while on take-off roll, immediately after which the pilot aborted the take-off and the aircraft returned to the bay. All passengers and crew are safe and an alternate aircraft is being arranged to operate the flight. We regret the inconvenience caused to the passengers."

Of late, many flights are being grounded at different airports due to technical glitches, raising serious concerns about the safety of passengers during domestic travel. In July, a Mumbai-Leh Go First (previously GoAir) flight had to be diverted to Delhi due to a fault in one of its engines. In another incident, a Srinagar-Delhi flight of the same airline had to return to its origin after trouble was detected in one of its engines.