Who is Pilot Monica Khanna & How She Saved 185 People Aboard a Plane on Fire

Captain Monica Khanna, pilot of the SpiceJet’s Boeing 737 travelling from Patna to Delhi, had to perform an emergency landing after one of the engines on her plane caught fire mid-flight.

Her steadfastness saved the lives of 185 passengers.

Without a moment’s delay, she switched off the affected engine and safely landed the flight at Patna airport. She performed an overweight landing along with First Officer Balpreet Singh Bhatia.

“Captain Monica Khanna & first officer Balpreet Singh Bhatia, conducted themselves well during the incident. They were calm throughout & handled the aircraft well. They are experienced officers & we’re proud of them,” Gurcharan Arora, Chief of flight operations, SpiceJet said, as quoted by ANI.

The fire was reportedly caused by a bird hit.

Arora added, “Only a single engine was functioning when the plane landed. Engineers inspected the aircraft, it was confirmed that the fan blade and engine were damaged as a bird hit it. DGCA will probe further.”

Praise pouring in

Several people have applauded Captain Khanna’s brave work, as she reportedly stayed calm and alert during the emergency.

Anand Mahindra appreciated Khanna’s heroic act. “Yes. But our hope is that with more examples like Captain Monica Khanna’s, we eventually won’t have any need to point out ‘women power.’ It’ll just be heroic ‘people.’ That will be true equality,” he tweeted.

Yes. But our hope is that with more examples like Captain Monica Khanna’s, we eventually won’t have any need to point out ‘women power.’ It’ll just be heroic ‘people.’ That will be true equality. https://t.co/yFocu2E7Ol

— anand mahindra (@anandmahindra) June 20, 2022

Journalist Prashant Kumar took to Twitter to praise the Captain’s work. “The hero of the day is Captain Monika Khanna! With her excellent skills she saved over 150 lives today when the plane she was flying caught fire post take off. Kudos to her courage. Cheers. 🎉,” he said.

Edited by Yoshita Rao