
Captain Monica Khanna safely landed a Spicejet plane travelling from Patna to Delhi that caught 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.
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. 🎉 pic.twitter.com/wzeSyb8lxC
Several others also lauded her efforts.
Today’s SpiceJet episode shows how important pilots are despite the tech dev.
And how seriously their training should be taken (context being the recent events at flying schools and DGCA action).
Great job, Capt Monica Khanna & FO Balpreet Bhatia!#spicejet#pilots
— SMES (@SMES_RKS) June 19, 2022
Captain Monica khanna, the pilot in command today who saved 185 souls on board Boeing 737 operated by spice jet today at Patna!!! pic.twitter.com/xL3vXraT0a
— Emon Mukherjee (@EmonMukherjee21) June 19, 2022
— Prashant Kumar (@scribe_prashant) June 19, 2022
“Captain Monica Khanna, pilot in command of Patna flight, very skilfully carried out overweight landing at highly constrained Patna airfield — 1 of most critical airports in India that has tall trees on approach to 1 end of runway & railway line at the other end:” veteran pilots pic.twitter.com/Q4WTHTzvwL
— Saurabh Sinha (@27saurabhsinha) June 19, 2022
The aircraft (VT-SYZ) suffered a bird hit during take off. Captain Monica Khanna, the pilot in command (PIC) of flight SG 723, switched off the affected engine and returned safely to #Patna with everyone onboard unharmed in this emergency landing.#SpiceJet #Viral #ViralVideo pic.twitter.com/d4D3PKXieA
— Anjali Choudhury (@AnjaliC16408461) June 19, 2022
Hail #Monicakhanna pilot for saving lives of onboard passagers of #SpiceJetflight in jeopardy in #Patna
We appreciate her insight,wit,presence of m8nd ,skill and courage to land a malfunctioning plane on the #PatnaAirport
Let educate girl childs to make an empowered India. pic.twitter.com/zyrHGboaqv— shahid parwez BAS (@andlibsh) June 20, 2022
Meet Captain Monica khanna who saved 185 lives on board Boeing 737 operated by spice jet at Patna!
Salute to Brave Girl👏👏#WomenPower@ActorMadhavan @ShefVaidya @Tiny_Dhillon @rwac48 @atahasnain53 @jkd18 pic.twitter.com/iHNenTKib6
— Rahul Pandit (@IMRahul_Pandit) June 20, 2022
Edited by Yoshita Rao
We bring stories straight from the heart of India, to inspire millions and create a wave of impact. Our positive movement is growing bigger everyday, and we would love for you to join it.
Please contribute whatever you can, every little penny helps our team in bringing you more stories that support dreams and spread hope.

