FlyDubai plane, which caught fire after bird hit, lands safely in Dubai
A FlyDubai aircraft which caught fire in one of its engines after encountering a bird strike after taking off from Nepal’s Tribhuvan International Airport has landed safely in Dubai. The aircraft had more than 160 people on board and it landed safely on Tuesday morning, ANI reported quoting an official spokesperson.
“After following standard procedure, the flight continued as normal to Dubai and arrived at DXB at 00:14 local time,” a flydubai spokesperson said.
The aircraft reported a problem in one of its engines soon after take-off at 9.20 am on Monday from the Tribhuvan International Airport, according to airport sources. It hovered over the skies in Dharke for sometime.
“Fly Dubai flight number 576, (Boeing 737-800) Kathmandu to Dubai flight is normal now and proceeding to her destination Dubai as per the flight plan.Kathmandu airport operation normal from 1614 UTC (09:59pm local time),” Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal said in a tweet.
Fly Dubai flight number 576, (Boeing 737-800) Kathmandu to Dubai flight is normal now and proceeding to her destination Dubai as per the flight plan.
Kathmandu airport operation normal from 1614 UTC (09:59pm local time). pic.twitter.com/RYhNONAXRK
— Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (@hello_CAANepal) April 24, 2023
Fire tenders were reportedly called to the airport after one of the engines of the aircraft caught fire while taking off. Nepal’s Minister of Tourism, Sudan Kirati, confirmed that the flight landed safely in Dubai.
The pilots later told the control tower they would continue with the flight after finding out that all indicators were normal, PTI reported.
Minister of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Sudan Kirati shared on his Facebook account that the FlyDubai aircraft was flying to its destination safely and urged everyone not to worry about it.
Eye-witnesses had earlier claimed they saw the aircraft catching fire in the Kathmandu sky, PTI said in a report.
The airport has now resumed its operation, said Pratap Babu Tiwari, general manager of Tribhuvan International Airport.“Kathmandu airport operation is normal from 1614 UTC (09:59pm local time),” CAAN said.
