A flight traveling to Bengaluru, India was forced to make an emergency landing shortly after takeoff because of a failure in its left engine. IndiGo flight 6E0573 departed on August 30 but returned to Kolkata shortly after takeoff.
Video recorded by a passenger and shared by journalist Prasun Choudhari on X reveals sparks erupting from the engine and smoke billowing from beneath the wing.
The aircraft, carrying 173 passengers and crew members, successfully landed in Kolkata at 11:05 PM using a single engine, ensuring the safety of everyone on board.
Airline Officials Confirm the Shocking Incident
Airport officials confirmed the incident.
“An IndiGo flight bound for Bengaluru, experienced an engine failure shortly after taking off from Kolkata on Friday. The aircraft, carrying 173 passengers and crew, was forced to declare an emergency and make a safe landing. The pilot reported the engine failure to air traffic control, leading to a full emergency declaration,” an airport official said, per The Indian Express.
The official announced that a full emergency was declared at 10:39 PM. Following this, both runways at Kolkata Airport were transferred to Air Traffic Control (ATC) and readied for safe landings. The aircraft successfully landed on a single engine at 11:05 PM.
“It was [learned] that the left side engine of the aircraft failed after take-off as a result of which it had to come back to Kolkata,” the official explained.
According to the official, all passengers and crew were safe, and the emergency was fully lifted once the aircraft had safely landed.
The Internet Reacts to Harrowing Footage of Engine Failure Before an Emergency Landing
Meanwhile, onlookers on the internet were outraged after seeing the footage on X.
“Why no investigation for such a serious incident?? Lives of hundreds of people hang in the air and cannot be taken lightly. Was it a bird hit or maintenance failure must be investigated,” one X user insisted.
However, a passenger took to X to thank the airline’s crew for their quick thinking under fire.
“I was on the flight and there was a loud boom some 5 mins into being airborne. The plane started turning north within a minute or so of the sound. We landed back at Netaji without incident. Kudos to the pilots and the crew for keeping us safe and not allowing panic to set in,” they wrote.