19 August,2016 11:16 AM IST | | mid-day online correspondent
A Qatar Airways passenger jet made an emergency landing at Istanbul's main airport shortly after takeoff today following a fire in one of its engines, Turkey's state-run Anadolu Agency reported
Istanbul: A Qatar Airways passenger jet made an emergency landing at Istanbul's main airport shortly after takeoff today following a fire in one of its engines, Turkey's state-run Anadolu Agency reported.
On Twitter, Qatar Airways said the flight "returned to Istanbul and has landed safely. The passengers have disembarked as normal."
Video courtesy/YouTube
It was not immediately clear how many passengers and crew were on board the Istanbul-to-Doha flight.
Anadolu said the emergency landing was ordered after flames came out of the plane's left-side engine. The private Turkish news agency Dogan said the affected plane was an Airbus A330.
Some sources from the airline have reportedly blamed a "bird strike" to have caused a fire. It means sometimes birds in flight can get accidentally sucked into a passenger plane's jet engine, sparking a fire and shorting it out.
Local news agencies have also reported that a passenger was required to be hospitalised following a painting spell.
The flight had apparently over 300 passengers on board.
Qatar Airways is one of the Mideast's three biggest carriers, alongside the region's biggest carrier, the Dubai-based Emirates Airline, and the Abu-Dhabi based Etihad Airways. The three have increasingly challenged Western airlines in long-haul flights.
Qatar Airways flies out of its hub in the vast new Hamad International Airport in Doha, which is preparing to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Qatar Airways did not immediately respond to queries about the flight from The Associated Press.
- With inputs from agencies
