Engine of IAF plane carrying essential supplies catches fire, pilots land it safely back in Agra

One of the engines of an aircraft of the Indian Air Force (IAF) caught fire soon after taking off from Agra air base with essential supplies, after which the pilots turned around and landed the plane safely at the base, senior officials said on Wednesday.

"One of the engines of the Avro aircraft caught fire at around 250 feet of height soon after the take off from Agra air base on Tuesday. The pilots landed the plane back safely. The aircraft had essential supplies as its cargo," they said.

It is a twin engine aircraft that can fly at a maximum speed of 452 km per hour and has the capacity to carry 48 soldiers and six tonnes of cargo.

As India is under a 21-day lockdown till April 14 to curb the spread of coronavirus, and all domestic and international commercial passenger flights have been suspended for this time period.

During this period, many IAF aircraft have been transporting essential supplies such as medicines, test kits and food items across the country.

Aviation regulator DGCA has given permission to airlines to use their passenger aircraft to transport cargo across the country.