By Devraj Reddy Bollareddy

Spicejet flight 723 is a regular scheduled flight from Patna to Delhi however when the plane took off on the 19 th , a suspected technical glitch caused flames in the engine which allegedly spread to the wings according to the locals. This incident reportedly took place right after the plane took off, causing the plane to turn back and make an emergency landing at Patna Air Force station. The Patna District Magistrate, Chandrashekar Singh commented that the locals were the first to notice flames in the engine and immediately alerted airport authorities. He also said that two blades were bent, it is safe to assume that he was referring to the engine blades.

A source said that all 188 passengers and crew on board were safe as the plane made a safe landing. The technical glitch that caused the engine to
catch fire is still under investigation. Props to the pilot, Monica Khanna who landed the plane with only one functioning engine when the plane was already overweight. She skillfully landed the plane under extremely stressful conditions at Patna airport, which is infamous for being a tricky airport to land in, with tall trees on one end of the runway and a railway line on the other end.

This news comes on the same day another Spicejet aircraft made an emergency landing at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport after the aircraft failed to pressurise. When the aircraft ascended to 6000ft after taking off, the captain realised that the aircraft isn’t pressurising as it should be.

These emergency landings come at a bad time for Spicejet, the organisation was already considering increasing fares in order to sustain its operation costs. Spicejet needs to address these issues if it still wants to be considered a major player in the Indian aviation market. As every quarter passes by, Spicejet’s biggest Indigo seems to gain more and more market share and news like this only damages the Spicejet brand further.