Engine catches fire as plane taxiies to take off

A major accident was averted after the engine of an Indigo flight caught fire during take-off on Friday.

The pilot displayed presence of mind and quickly slammed the brakes. All 174 passengers on board were evacuated safely through the plane's emergency doors.
No aircraft could take off or land on the runway for a few hours after 6 pm, when the incident took place.

An airport source confirmed the engine caught fire, but denied reports about a tyre burst.

“Engineers are on the job. We will ensure that normal operations resume as fast as possible,” said Patna airport director Rajendra Singh Lahoria.

All flights scheduled for Patna were diverted to other routes. One of those affected by the disruption in schedules was RJD leader Lalu Prasad. He was returning to Patna after appearing in a Ranchi court in a fodder scam case. The flight on which he was travelling was told to return to Ranchi.

Senior BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi, scheduled to participate in the GST launch event in Delhi, was stranded in Patna. His Jet flight, scheduled to take off after the Indigo, was delayed because of the mishap.