An Air India Express A320-200 departing from Bangalore, India experienced an engine fire during the climb out on 18 May 2024.
Air India Express flight IX1132 had just departed from Bangalore RWY27R when flight crew detected a fire in the right-hand engine.
Air India Express Bangalore-Cochin
The climb was subsequently terminated below 10,000 feet and the right-hand engine was shut down. Engine fire extinguishers were activated during the trouble checks, but they failed to extinguish the fire.
Flight crew expedited a return to Bangalore, where they landed less than 15 minutes after the initial departure. A full-scale airport emergency was declared and an emergency evacuation of the aircraft was performed.
179 passengers and six flight crew members were aboard the aircraft, and all were safely evacuated.
Some minor injuries were reported as a result. Ground firefighting assets subsequently put out the engine fire with the aircraft on the ground.
Flight Details
Flight data shows that the regional IX1132 service bound for Cochin International Airport (COK) had made a delayed departure out of Bengaluru Bangalore International Airport (BLR).
The flight shows an actual departure time of 2300 local time. Scheduled departure time for the service was listed as 2145 local time.
Upon detecting the right-hand engine fire, flight crew terminated the climb at 6000 feet and initiated a direct return to the departure airport.
The flight did not squawk the emergency transponder code 7700, and continued with the return under normal squawk. A full-scale emergency was declared for the emergency landing Bengaluru by the airport authority.
The aircraft conducting the IX1132 regional service to Cochin was an Airbus A320-200, registered VT-ATF.
This is a 10.3 year old narrow body aircraft belonging to the carrier Air India Express (AIX). The aircraft has seen operational service with the Indian carrier since its delivery in March 2014.
It originally entered service under the carrier’s former name AirAsia India.
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