Smoke and panic as plane lands in Delhi

A fault in its landing gear caused an IndiGo aircraft to produce dense smoke while landing at New Delhi Airport at around 3.30pm Indian time (2pm UAE time) on Wednesday.

The Airbus A-320 plane was carrying 154 passengers from Mumbai to the national capital.

According to reports quoting Air Traffic Control, dense smoke was seen after the aircraft touched down on the runway, causing panic and prompting evacuation of passengers using emergency slides, injuring a few of them in the process.

The Press Trust of India (PTI) quoted an airline official as saying that all the passengers were evacuated within 75 seconds after landing safely. Indian TV channels and newspapers reported the story as an aircraft on fire causing panic among passengers while landing.

India’s Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and the airline have started an investigation into the incident.

According to Indian newspapers, the aircraft was moved to the taxiway where all passengers were evacuated through emergency slide-chutes. Airline officials were quoted saying that some passengers suffered minor injuries during evacuation.

 “We confirm that all passengers and crew members are safe and have been taken to the terminal building. Some of the passengers who suffered minor injuries during evacuation were given medical attention and taken care of by our airport team as well as five members of our FAC (Family Assistance and Care) team members. They have all left for their homes already. Further investigations are underway,” an airline statement said.

An IndiGo spokesperson was quoted as saying that immediately after the captain of the aircraft was informed about the dense smoke observed from the Air Traffic Control tower, he ordered the crew to evacuate all passengers.

The airline claimed that there was no fire and the aircraft had a normal landing at Delhi Airport.


 

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