Scare for BJP leaders at Patna airport after tyre burst on Delhi-bound flight; air traffic suspended

Senior BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi, Union minister Ram Kripal Yadav, and other major dignitaries were stranded at Patna airport on Friday evening, following a tyre burst incident on a Delhi-bound flight. A major mishap was averted at Patna’s Jay Prakash Narayan International Airport, when an Indigo flight 6E-415 suffered a tyre burst while taking off on Friday evening. [caption id=“attachment_3762793” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Sushil Kumar Modi and the Indigo flight.[/caption] While all passengers have been evacuated safely, air traffic has been suspended at the airport till next orders. The BJP leaders were incidentally on their way to the capital to participate in the rollout of Goods and Services Tax, which was to take place at midnight. Meanwhile, Lalu Prasad Yadav is also stuck at Ranchi’s Birsa Munda Airport. Ranchi’s air traffic control was alerted just after the incident at Patna. Lalu was about to board Indigo flight for Patna.

The leaders were to participate in the midnight session of Parliament to inaugurate GST. Indigo later denied in a statement that there was a tyre burst and said that the flight was “involved in a low speed reject due to suspected engine stall”. The statement said that the cabin crew detected the smoke in cabin, following which the captain elected to evacuate due to precautionary reasons. Indigo also said that all standard of procedure (SOPs) were carried out and an internal enquiry has been initiated. There were 174 passengers on board.