Kolkata: A Turkish Airlines flight made an emergency landing at Kolkata’s Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport on Wednesday after its right engine reportedly caught fire shortly after takeoff.
According to sources, Turkish Airlines flight THY-727 enroute from Kathmandu to Istanbul carrying 236 people including 11 crew members, took off from Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu at 1:28 pm local time (1:13 pm IST). Within four minutes, the pilot detected a fire indication in the right engine and alerted air traffic control.
“The right engine of the Airbus A330-303 caught fire minutes after takeoff. The captain informed Kolkata ATC about the possible fire and diverted west of Kathmandu, shutting down the affected engine to keep airborne for about 10 minutes,” Tribhuvan airport general manager Teknath Sitaula told reporters.
A full emergency was declared at Kolkata airport. The aircraft landed safely at 2:49 pm IST, with all passengers and crew disembarking without injuries by around 3:30 pm. Airport director confirmed the plane remains grounded for technical inspection.
“All 236 on board are safe. The aircraft is under inspection; no fire was visible externally,” a Kolkata airport spokesperson said.
Tribhuvan airport operations were briefly suspended for 15 minutes post-incident, reports said.
This is the second time a Turkish Airlines plane has made emergency landing in Kolkata in recent years.
