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Ex-Army chief recalls scare on IndiGo flight that he wasn't supposed to board: 'All of us felt something was wrong'
Former Army chief General JJ Singh recalls hearing a loud noise and hissing sound before an IndiGo Goa-Delhi flight made an emergency landing.
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General JJ Singh (retd) wasn’t supposed to be on IndiGo flight 6E 2102 at all. The former army chief’s initial plan was to fly out to Delhi from Belagavi. But he needed to be in the Capital earlier, so he chose to fly out from Goa’s Manohar International Airport instead.
Loud noise, suspected engine failure
The Airbus A321neo took off at 9.16am. Within minutes, Singh said he heard a loud noise and a hissing sound from one of the engines. And then, silence.
The crew alerted air traffic control to a suspected engine failure and requested an immediate return.
“The acceleration reduced considerably – it was initially at full thrust going up,” Singh told HT.
“All of us felt something was wrong. We just didn’t know what.”
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Panic in the cabin
The decorated officer, who also served as governor of Arunachal Pradesh between 2008 and 2013, said panic soon rippled through the cabin as passengers began to fear the worst.
Some cried inconsolably, especially a woman who held her three-month-old baby in her lap, he said.
“I did my best to reassure my co-passengers that, with god’s grace, all will be well,” said Singh.
To be sure, IndiGo did not confirm that the issue was related to the engine. However, a person aware of the matter earlier told HT the issue was related to one of the engines. Tuesday’s was the second IndiGo flight to face an engine snag in the past month.
On August 11, a Kolkata-Chennai flight made a priority landing after declaring an emergency when its left engine developed problems on approach.
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Pilot stayed calm during emergency
The captain, Singh underlined, stayed calm and tried to cut the tension in the cabin.
“He did not put us into any anxiety while he was doing his work to the best of his ability… Moments before touchdown, the pilot informed passengers that one of the engines had failed and that his aim was to bring the aircraft safely to the ground,” he said.
The aircraft landed safely at 9.45am with 229 people on board.
Singh said the landing was smooth despite the turbulence and crosswinds.
“When we landed, everybody heaved a sigh of relief and prayed,” Singh recounted.
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Aircraft and engine details
The aircraft, registered VT-ILZ, is a 4.8-year-old A321neo powered by two CFM International LEAP-1A engines.
The LEAP-1A is one of two engine options on the A320neo family — the backbone of IndiGo’s fleet that also includes the A321neo — the other being Pratt & Whitney’s PW1100G geared turbofan. The CFM engine has broadly had a smoother in-service record than the Pratt & Whitney unit, which has been dogged by durability problems and a powder-metal contamination defect that at its peak grounded dozens of IndiGo aircraft.
Passengers disembarked in usual fashion and weren’t made to follow any emergency protocol, said Singh, who was seated in row 3.
‘Why did I change my plan?’
For a few seconds, Singh nearly questioned fate. “I had some thoughts – why did I change my plan? Why did I change this flight?”
“But then, god’s grace and the pilot’s skill saved us.”
