MUSCAT: A major disaster was averted on Wednesday after a serious incident involving an Air India Express flight IX 442 at Muscat International Airport.
The Boeing 737-800 operated by Air India Express caught fire minutes before take-off. All 141-passengers were evacuated safely from the airline after fire was detected in one of the engines just before the take-off.
Speaking to The Arabian Stories, aviation expert said a major mishap was avoided. The Kochi-bound flight was on a taxiway when another aircraft reported observing fumes from one of the engines. However, there was no fire warning indication in the cockpit, according to a statement issued by the Air India Express management.
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“Plane catching fire on a taxiway is rare especially when it is at low-speed and it usually happens during landing time. It needs to be seriously investigated and mostly it happens when fuel is pumped beyond the capacity,” said Reena Rahman, an aviation expert with over 20-years of experience.
According to Air India Express, 141-passengers bound to Kochi were inside the aircraft during the incident. The airline was preparing to depart from Muscat at 11:20am local time. “There are no major injuries reported, except minor bruises to some passengers while evacuating,” the airline added.
The Tata group owned Air India Express is India’s first international budget carrier while it was the national carrier and connects to the Middle East/West Asia, besides Southeast Asia.
In July, another AIE flight bound to Dubai from Kozhikode also in Kerala was forced to divert to Muscat after a burning smell was observed.
