GoAir plane aborts takeoff after engine catches fire; passengers safe

A Bengaluru-bound GoAir plane, carrying more than 130 people, aborted takeoff on Monday at Ahmedabad airport after one of its engine caught fire following a bird strike.

All people deplaned safely and the aircraft was towed away from the runway, according to the airline.

A GoAir official said there were 131 passengers and three infants onboard the aircraft besides crew when the incident happened.

"The right engine of the GoAir flight G8-802 from Ahmedabad to Bengaluru suffered from a Foreign Object Damage (FOD) while on take-off roll. The FOD resulted in a small fire which has been doused," a GoAir spokesperson said in a statement.

The FOD was caused by a bird hit. The aircraft has been grounded for further inspection, the spokesperson said.

According to the spokesperson, no emergency evacuation was deemed necessary and another aircraft was later arranged to fly the passengers to their destination with a revised schedule.

The flight departed for Bengaluru at 1.38 pm after a delay of nearly three-and-a-haf hours.