Chennai: Deft handling by the pilot averted a major disaster as he managed to land his turbo-prop Indigo Airline plane at Chennai airport late Sunday evening despite one of its two engines failing during the final phase of the flight from Rajamundry, sources here said.
They said the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has now ordered a probe into the engine failure and more importantly, on why the Chennai airport authorities as well as the airlines did not report the matter to the Authority as soon as it occurred.
The flight AT76-6E7124 with 51 persons, including four crew members, developed engine problem during its Rajamundry-Chennai flight and the pilot noticed shortly before its scheduled arrival time 5.45 pm that one of the two engines on the aircraft had failed.
The pilot immediately alerted the ATC (air traffic control) tower at the Chennai airport, who told him to keep circling over the airport for about 30 minutes before giving the clearance to land after taking all the precautionary and preparatory work for an emergency landing.
Great luck and skillful handling by the pilot saw the propeller aircraft land safely, without any injuries to any passengers of crew members. The plane landed at about 6.15 pm and the visibly relieved passengers disembarked without panic.
