All 141 passengers and the six crew members who were evacuated via slides as a precaution are secure.
Digital Desk: At the Muscat airport on September 14, an Air India Express flight from Muscat to Kochi with 141 passengers, four infants, and six staff members on board aborted takeoff shortly after smoke was discovered in one of its engines.
All 141 passengers and the six crew members who were evacuated via slides as a precaution are secure.
When the aircraft was on the runway at Muscat airport, smoke came from one of the engines, forcing Air India Express flight IX 442 to abort the takeoff. A Boeing 737-800 aircraft that was parked behind the Air India Express plane noticed the smoke.
Air India Express released the following statement: "Air India Express's flight IX 442 from Muscat to Kochi, carrying 141 passengers, was getting ready to take off from Muscat at 1120 hours (local time) today. Another aircraft reported seeing smoke coming from one of the engines while it was on the taxiway. In the cockpit, there was no fire warning sign, though.
The crew stopped on the taxiway and turned on the onboard engine fire extinguishers as a matter of extreme caution, the statement added. After that, the aircraft's passengers were evacuated.
According to the airline, an engineering team is assessing the aircraft to determine what caused the mishap. The regulatory agencies and the airline's flight safety department are both looking into the problem, it was said.
Later this evening, the airline has scheduled a relief flight to transport the stranded customers to Kochi.
"Smoke was spotted in engine number two of an Air India Express flight (to Kochi) on the runway at Muscat airport, and all passengers were safely evacuated. A relief flight will be scheduled, "In a statement, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation said.
"We'll be looking into the matter and acting accordingly. Contrary to what some local media outlets have stated, there are no injuries. Several people sustained bruising while being evacuated. According to the station manager, nothing serious," DGCA sources informed.
A burning odour forced an Air India flight that was travelling from Calicut to Dubai two months prior to be diverted to Muscat.
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