A Boeing 737 was forced to make an emergency landing after striking a bird during takeoff. Video from inside the plane show flames shooting from the engine during takeoff. The plane safely returned to the airport after the incident.
A SpiceJet Boeing 737 laden with 200 passengers experienced a birdstrike during takeoff from the Patna airport on Sunday. Flight SG723 was departing the airport when its left engine encountered a bird causing flames to shoot out from the engine. Video shared on Twitter shows the flames from inside the jet.
The SpiceJet flight was captained by Monica Khanna, a veteran pilot who safely switched the engine off and returned to the Patna airport for an overweight landing. No injuries to the crew or passengers were reported, according to the Times of India.
Footage on the ground was also striking:
Because the Patna runway is so short (it’s landlocked by tall trees, a zoo and a railway) it is a notoriously difficult airport – made even harder when overweight. Trees surround the outskirts of the airport adding to the complexity according to The Print who have declared the airport a disaster waiting to happen. Notably, the nearby Zoo and trees are popular with birds causing frequent bird strikes for arriving and departing planes.
In 2000 Alliance Air Flight 7412 crashed into a nearby neighborhood scraping trees before killing everyone on board.
1 comment
Its good she just “switched the engine off”