Friday, August 27, 2010

False alarm on Jet Airways plane triggers panic

Mumbai: Fifteen Jet passengers were injured at the Mumbai airport on Friday night when a Chennai-bound flight aborted takeoff due to a technical glitch.



Passengers on board were in for a scare when a fire alarm went off shortly before the plane took off. The alarm triggered a minor stampede as passengers rushed to evacuate. But now the airline says it was a false alarm.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has ordered an inquiry into the incident.

The passengers were headed for Chennai, but landed up in a hospital instead. Around 15 of them sustained minor injuries after being evacuated out of Jet Airways flight 2302 at the Mumbai domestic airport.

The incident occurred after the pilot ordered an emergency evacuation after a fire alarm went off, indicating the left-hand side engine of the Boeing 737 twin engine had caught fire. But Jet Airways in a statement said the fire was a false alarm.



In the scuffle that followed to exit the aircraft from all four exits of the airplane, passengers jumped out of the safety chutes tumbling over each other and in the process sustained minor injuries.

Most of them have been administered first aid and have already been accommodated on other flights, while 2-3 of them have been admitted to city hospitals with minor injuries.

Jet Airways in a statement said: "Although there were no visible traces of a fire, the commander proceeded to declare a precautionary emergency. All passengers onboard were then deplaned safely and a thorough inspection of the engine 
carried out. Safety of our guests is of paramount importance to Jet Airways." 



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