Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru (SP)

Mangaluru, Mar 15: All 31 passengers aboard SpiceJet flight to Hyderabad from here were asked to disembark from the aircraft that was ready to take off on Wednesday March 14. This measure was taken as smoke started to billow out of the engine of the aircraft just before takeoff.

Passengers had boarded the plane and the aircraft was about to takeoff when a major technical snag was detected. This is the third such incident in this airport during the recent months, and comes close on the heels of 65 aircrafts of private operators having been grounded for being powered by certain engines.

On September 21, 2017, an Air India Express flight with 173 passengers to Doha from here had returned within 30 minutes of takeoff after one of its engines had failed, and the passengers had providential escape.

The SpiceJet flight was to leave for its destination at 8.50 am on Wednesday. By the time the flight moved towards the runway, thick smoke was noticed and there was apprehension about the possibility of fire engulfing the aircraft. The pilot immediately brought the aircraft to a halt and contacted Air Traffic Control. Fire services and other help were rushed to the stranded aircraft, and passengers were evacuated safely.

SpiceJet duty officer here, Ashikraj, confirmed that the flight was cancelled after smoke was noticed and it was treated as technical snag. The flight, which could accommodate over 70 passengers, had only 31 passengers. They were safety brought out and sent by other flights, he explained.