Four-member team set up to probe Air India fire incident

Mumbai, Sep 5 (ANI): A four-member in-house committee has been set up to probe the Air India fire incident that took place at Mumbai International Airport on Friday.

Nearly 200 passengers were onboard on Riyadh bound Air India flight (AI-829) while the aircraft's left engine caught fire while taking off.

Many passengers suffered bruises and cuts while sliding down from the chutes but were taken to the Mumbai International Airport Pvt Ltd (MIAL) casualty centre and given first aid.

Ruling out the possibility of a technical snag leading to the grounding of the aircraft at Mumbai Airport, aviation experts said the fuel leaked onto the heated engines of the aircraft and that had caused the fire.

They said that timely information provided by a passenger led the crew to stop the flight from taxing off the runway for Saudi Arabian capital Riyadh.

Flight 829 was immediately grounded when sparks were detected flying out of one of the engines.

The 213 passengers onboard were evacuated by slides to safety. Four fire engines were rushed to the spot, as also other equipment and personnel. (ANI)