A couple of detail-oriented teenagers potentially saved, like, 194 lives after spotting fire and smoke coming from the tail of a GoAir plane flying above them. The flight ultimately made an emergency landing at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi after being alerted to the observation, Mashablereported.
"G8-557 Delhi-Bengaluru flight made an emergency landing at Delhi airport at 19.53 hours due to technical reasons," a statement on Wednesday’s incident from a GoAir rep, obtained by the Indian Express, said. "After receiving the call from Delhi Police, CISF security personnel immediately conveyed the message to Airport Operations Control Centre (AOCC) and to the Air Traffic Control (ATC)."
Rohit Singh was reportedly hanging out on his terrace with Nitin, his cousin, when the two spotted the plane flying overhead. Rohit alerted his father, who initially thought something had happened to his son. "Without wasting any time, I called up the Delhi Police," Navneet Singh told the Indian Express.
A passenger on the flight claimed to the Express that she heard fellow passengers "screaming about a fire" just minutes after takeoff. "As I looked to my left, I noticed that the left engine had caught fire," the passenger claimed. "The plane was flying at around 5,000-6,000 feet. The fire, which lasted for about 30 seconds, somehow went off, probably because the pilots switched off the engine." All crew and passengers were transferred to an alternate flight. Though GoAir mentioned only "technical reasons" in their statement, the incident is now under investigation.
