Two pilots draw appreciation for safely landing bird-hit SpiceJet aircraft in Patna

Captain Arora stated: "Captain Monica Khanna and first officer Balpreet Singh Bhatia conducted themselves well during the incident. They were calm throughout and handled the aircraft well. When the plane landed, only a single-engine was working. Engineers inspected the aircraft after the incident. It was confirmed that the fan blade and engine had been damaged by a bird hit. DGCA will investigate further. They are experienced officers and we are proud of them."

Patna: Private airline SpiceJet on Monday hailed its pilots of the Patna-Delhi flight after they safely landed the plane with around 185 passengers on board after one of its engines caught fire mid-air. SpiceJet’s Chief of Flight Operations, also known as the Head of Pilots, said all the passengers of the flight should 'be proud of its pilots and have faith in them as they are 'well-trained'. The Delhi-bound SpiceJet Boeing 737 flight had to return to Patna after take-off as the plane’s engine caught fire following a bird hit Sunday afternoon.

SpiceJet said pilot Monica Khanna and first officer Balpreet Singh Bhatia ensured a safe landing of the plane with a single functioning engine at the Patna airport. Gurucharan Arora, Head of Pilots, said, "I appeal to all the passengers to have faith in all the SpiceJet pilots. They are all well-trained. The way SpiceJet pilots handled the situation in Patna, was well-managed and is a matter of pride for us. SpiceJet has capable and trained pilots to handle any eventuality peacefully and for that, all passengers should be proud of them."

Captain Arora further stated: "Captain Monica Khanna and first officer Balpreet Singh Bhatia conducted themselves well during the incident. They were calm throughout and handled the aircraft well. When the plane landed, only a single-engine was working. Engineers inspected the aircraft after the incident. It was confirmed that the fan blade and engine had been damaged by a bird hit. DGCA will investigate further. They are experienced officers and we are proud of them."

It was reported that the DGCA had begun the investigation and both the pilots have joined the probe. SpiceJet is also internally investigating the matter. As the Standard Operating Procedures in such cases warrant, the pilots have not been deployed for flight operations for the next few days.