Kathmandu-Istanbul Turkish Airlines flight makes emergency landing at Kolkata

The aircraft, carrying 236 passengers, is currently at Kolkata airport and is being inspected, according to the NSCBI airport director.

A Turkish Airlines flight travelling from Kathmandu to Istanbul made an emergency landing at the Kolkata airport on Wednesday. 

The Turkish 727 flight landed at Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International (NSCBI) Airport around 2:49 pm, following a pilot alert to Kolkata ATC about a potential fire in the aircraft’s right engine.

The aircraft, carrying 236 passengers, is currently at Kolkata airport and is being inspected, according to the NSCBI airport director.

The incident also triggered an emergency at Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu, as the aircraft’s right engine caught fire immediately after takeoff, news agency ANI reported citing officials. 

The aircraft, en enroute to Istanbul from the Nepali capital, caught fire in the right engine immediately after takeoff.

"The Turkish Airlines with flight number 'THY-727' caught fire within four minutes of the take off, the right engine caught fire. The flight took off at 1:28 PM (Local Time)," Teknath Sitaula, General Manager of Tribhuvan International Airport said. 

After the engine caught fire, the pilot diverted the aircraft to the west of Kathmandu and shut down the right engine, keeping the plane airborne for approximately 10 minutes, the official stated.

“The pilot informed the Kathmandu tower and continued flying on a single engine, holding the aircraft for some time over the Dharke area of Dhading district, to assess the situation,” Gyanendra Bhul, deputy spokesperson of the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN), told The Kathmandu Post.

Following inspections, the crew determined that the aircraft was unsafe for a long-haul journey. Although they could have returned to Kathmandu or Bhairahawa, the pilots opted to avoid any risk and redirected the flight to Kolkata, as per the Kathmandu Post.