ktm11
30th Dec 2004, 17:21
An Airbus 300 of Qatar Airways en route from Kathmandu to Doha was forced to make an emergency landing at the Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA), Kathmandu,(VNKT) Thursday morning after the captain reported fire on one of the engines soon after takeoff.
The flight then returned to Kathmandu and landed safely on one engine, as the fire services were on standby at the airport.
Officials have said that all the 10 crewmembers and 203 passengers on board are safe.
According to TIA officials, the plane- QR 352- took off at 9:30 today morning but made emergency landing at the airport at 10:25 a.m.
Officials have informed that the plane will be allowed to fly only after a complete investigation into the matter.
The plane involve was A300 (A7-ABX) As it took off from VNKT its left engine succumbed to some technical problem. According to eye witnesses, immediately after the plane took off, it produced two huge sounds. Moreover, a flash of fire was seen in the engine. "I was afraid that the plane might fall down," said a witness who saw the aircraft while selling vegetables at the market nearby. One of the passenger interviwed also said he saw sparks coming out three times before he saw flames about 50ft above gorund when the plane was taking off.
The captain of the aircraft informed the tower crew of the technical problems and urged to make necessary preparations to pave way for emergency landing.
"In response, TIA stopped all the scheduled flights, declaring emergency at 9.45 a.m. Ambulance and fire fighters were ready at the airport,"
The aircraft had reached the height of 11,500ft while it prepared to land.
"After dumping excess fuel, the captain managed to land the plane safely," said a technician of the CAAN, adding that any aircraft needs to dump excess fuel in such a situation to land safely. After 51 minutes from taking off from the TIA, it safely landed at the TIA at 10.22 a.m.
Commenting on the possible cause, another witness and senior captain of the RNAC said that excessive fuel in the engine might have ignited due to spark which caused the mishap.
Director general of the CAAN said that the plane landed safely due to the captain’s efficient skill and good coordination with tower’s crew.GSA of Qatar Airways said a technical team, comprising engineers from Qatar have arrived and are investigating into the matter. They will also repair the damaged engine he said.