Kolkata: A Turkish Airlines flight en route from Kathmandu to Istanbul was forced to make an emergency landing at Kolkata’s Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport on Tuesday after the pilot reported a fire in the aircraft’s right engine, officials said.
According to a statement issued by the Civil Aviation Ministry, the pilot declared a “PAN PAN” call — an internationally recognised radio signal indicating an urgent situation — at around 1.38 pm after detecting a fire accompanied by a failure in the right engine. The crew subsequently sought permission to divert the aircraft to Kolkata.
The aircraft, operated by Turkish Airlines, landed safely at Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport with full emergency measures activated. Airport fire and rescue teams were placed on high alert as the plane touched down, and the engine fire was brought under control by 1.51 pm, the ministry said. Airport officials confirmed that all safety protocols were followed during the emergency landing. There were no reports of injuries to passengers or crew members, and all those on board were safely evacuated after the aircraft was secured.
Officials said further inspection of the aircraft would be carried out to determine the exact cause of the engine fire, while arrangements were being made for passengers affected by the unscheduled diversion.
Meanwhile, all passengers, crew members and the captain were shifted to a hotel. An AAI official said that another aircraft is scheduled to arrive around 4 am on Thursday, with passengers expected to depart at around 6 am.