An Istanbul-bound Turkish Airlines flight originating from Kathmandu made an emergency landing in Kolkata. All 236 passengers on board are reportedly safe.
Reports revealed that fire was detected in one of the engines soon after the flight took off from Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu.
"The Turkish Airlines with flight number 'THY-727' caught fire within four minutes of the take off, the right engine caught fire. The flight took off at 1:28 PM (Local Time)," Teknath Sitaula, General Manager of Tribhuvan International Airport told ANI.
How did the pilot manage to land the aircraft in Kolkata?
The pilot of the Turkish Airlines flight received a cockpit warning of a fire in the right engine. He immediately shut down the affected engine.
"The pilot informed the Kathmandu tower and continued flying on a single engine, holding the aircraft for some time over the Dharke area of Dhading district, to assess the situation," Gyanendra Bhul, deputy spokesperson of the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN), told The Kathmandu Post.
The crew found out that the flight was not safe for a long journey. They decided against flying back to Kathmandu or Bhairahawa and instead chose to head to Kolkata.
They managed to fly to Kolkata using the left engine. The emergency landing was performed at 2.49 pm.
"The Captain informed Kolkata ATC about a possible fire in the right engine. The aircraft landed safely at Kolkata NSCBI Airport at 14:49 hours with 236 passengers on board. The aircraft is currently at Kolkata airport, and an inspection is underway," stated the airport director of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International (NSCBI) Airport.
The aviation authorities will carry out a detailed inspection of the aircraft in Kolkata.
