A Patna-bound GoFirst (formerly known as GoAir) flight from Bengaluru with 139 passengers on board made an emergency landing at Nagpur airport on Saturday, November 27, after a snag in one of the engines, an official said. The flight made a safe landing at the airport at 11.15 am, the official added.

"The pilot of the GoAir flight contacted Nagpur ATC to inform that one of the engines of the plane is facing a problem, and made a request for emergency landing at Nagpur airport," director of the airport, Abid Ruhi, told PTI. There were 139 passengers on board apart from the crew members, he said.

"We made all requisite arrangements by declaring it as full-scale emergency, which includes making available runways, fire tenders, doctors, ambulances and requires coordination with the police. Fortunately, the flight made a safe landing," Ruhi said.

In a statement, a spokesperson for GoFirst said that the plane was diverted to Nagpur due to a faulty engine warning in the cockpit. It “necessitated the captain to shut down the engine as a precautionary measure. Thereafter the captain followed the standard operating procedures and landed safely at Nagpur airport,” the spokesperson said. The aircraft is being inspected by the engineering team.

The statement added that an alternative aircraft has been arranged for passengers, and will leave for Patna at 4.45 pm. “At GoFirst, safety of its passengers and crew is of paramount importance and the airline sincerely regrets any inconvenience caused to the passengers,” it added. 

This incident comes after an Air India Bengaluru-Hyderabad flight on September 13 returned to the parking bay shortly after taking off, due to a technical glitch. Among those onboard the plane was Union Minister of Agriculture Shobha Karandlaje.

With PTI inputs