Over 150 people on board an IndiGo plane had a narrow escape when the aircraft developed a problem in its landing gear that caused thick smoke emanating from the left wheel side and prompted emergency evacuation. All 154 people, including an infant and six crew members, had to be evacuated through “side slide chute” (emergency exit). In the process, around 28 passengers sustained minor injuries while a woman traveller got fracture. She was taken to Indian Spinal Injuries Centre where she is recuperating. Meanwhile, remaining injured people were discharged after treatment.
“Twenty-seven passengers sustained bruises, scratches and cuts and were taken care by our airport team as well as five members of our FAC (Family Assistance and Care) team members. Some were also treated at nearby hospitals. One unfortunate passenger also sustained a fracture and is currently undergoing treatment,” said an Airline spokesperson.
As the Airbus A-320 aircraft operating flight 6E-176 from Mumbai and carrying 148 passengers and six crew members landed at the IGI Airport around 3:30 hours, the Air Traffic Control (ATC) observed ‘dense smoke’ coming out of the left-side lower portion and alerted the pilots, airport sources said. The aircraft was taken to the taxi bay where all passengers were taken off board.
Aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and the airline have begun probing the incident, with preliminary information saying the smoke emanated from the left brake assembly of the aircraft’s landing gear. This is the second incident involving an IndiGo aircraft in the recent past. On March 8, an IndiGo plane from Delhi with 182 people on board had caught fire after landing at Kathmandu airport but no one was hurt in the incident.
Officials of the DGCA at the airport and the airline engineers have already started investigating the cause behind the smoke, official sources said, adding that the probe into all aspects would continue over the next few days.
However, a spokesperson of the airline maintained that there was no ‘fire’ and this was not an emergency or priority landing. The aircraft touched down in Delhi on runway 27 at 3:35 pm. “As soon as the Captain got the information about the dense smoke observed from the ATC tower, he immediately ordered the crew to evacuate all passengers. The evacuation was done on taxi way after safely landing the aircraft. All the passengers were evacuated in approximately 75 seconds,” he said.