HYDERABAD, 25 September 2003 — BJP President M. Venkaiah Naidu, Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation Rajiv Pratap Rudy and several others had a narrow escape when the engine of an Air Deccan plane caught fire at the airport here yesterday morning.
Union Minister of State for Urban Development Bandaru Dattatreya had flagged off Air Deccan’s inaugural flight to the coastal town of Vijayawada, but before the plane could taxi to the runway, the left engine caught fire. Immediately, fire tenders rushed to the plane and put out the fire.
All passengers on the flight, including Naidu, Rudy, film actor and BJP legislator Kota Srinivas Rao and several media persons were safely evacuated from the pane which was on its first flight to Vijayawada, about 300 km to the east of this Andhra Pradesh capital city.
“The pilot noticed a problem with one of the engines and immediately aborted take-off. It was a technical snag, not an accident.”
Rudy later told reporters that said that the Directorate-General of Civil Aviation would probe the mishap.
A total of 33 passengers, including Air Deccan Managing Director Captain G R Gopinath, were on board the 48-seater French-built ATR-42 aircraft. Air Deccan has announced low-cost flights connecting important destinations such as Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam, Rajahmundry and Tirupathi in Andhra Pradesh with small aircraft.
