Kolkata: A Turkish Airlines flight en route from Kathmandu to Istanbul was forced to make an emergency landing at Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport in Kolkata on Wednesday afternoon after the pilot suspected a fire in the aircraft’s right engine, airport officials said.
The aircraft was carrying 236 passengers and 11 crew members when the incident occurred shortly after take-off from Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu. Officials said the pilot detected a possible engine fire within minutes of departure and immediately shut down the right engine as a precaution.
The pilot then contacted Kolkata air traffic control seeking permission for an emergency landing. Airport authorities activated emergency protocols, including deploying fire tenders and rescue teams along the runway.
Despite flying on a single engine for more than an hour, the aircraft landed safely in Kolkata at around 2.50 pm. All passengers and crew disembarked without injury, officials confirmed.
An airport official said the aircraft was moved to a designated safe area for inspection after landing. Preliminary reports indicated that the pilot opted not to return to Kathmandu and instead chose Kolkata due to operational and safety considerations.
Tribhuvan International Airport’s general manager, Teknath Sitaula, said the alert was raised within four minutes of take-off at approximately 1.28 pm local time. The exact cause of the suspected engine fire is yet to be determined, and technical inspections are ongoing.
Airline and aviation authorities are expected to conduct a detailed investigation to ascertain the reason behind the engine malfunction.
