Who Is Captain Monica Khanna? Pilot On Patna-Delhi Flight Responsible For Saving Lives

Captain Monica Khanna was flying the Spicejet Boeing 737 which made an emergency landing at Patna airport after one of its engine caught fire mid-air soon after take off for Delhi on June 19, 2022. No passengers were hurt during the flight and Captain Khanna is one of the names to thank for it, as per reports.

Khanna reportedly switched off the affected engine and brought the flight safely back to the Patna airport. All passengers were safely evacuated unharmed. Many locals shared the video of sparks coming out of the left engine of the flight. Gurcharan Arora, the chief of flight operations at Spicejet lauded the pilot for her quick action.

He spoke to ANI and said, "Captain Monika Khanna and first officer Balpreet Singh Bhatia conducted themselves well during the incident. They were calm throughout, and handled the aircraft well. They are experienced officers and we're proud of them."

"I appeal to all the passengers to have faith in all the SpiceJet pilots. They all are well-trained. The way SpiceJet pilots handled the situation in Patna, it was well-managed and is a matter of pride for us, " he added.

The said aircraft caught fire shortly after take-off from Patna airport. Captain Khanna after communicating with Air traffic control turned off the affected engine and made one round as per the protocols.

The flight was then hurriedly returned back to the airport with just one engine functioning. As per the eyewitnesses, the fire had extinguished by the time the flight landed back on runway. Captain Monica Khanna was welcomed by the airport crew and the airlines officials with applause.

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All 185 passengers on the flight were safely evacuated with reports of injury. According to engineers, a fan blade and engine were damaged due to a bird hit. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) will probe further.

Anchal Prakash, the director of Jay Prakash Narayan Patna airport said, "The left engine of the spice jet flight SG-723 was damaged and caught fire due to bird-hitting. The safe emergency landing was possible due to due to the sensible and cool headed approach of both pilots. After the direction of DGCA, a probe is currently on and a technical team is inspecting the aircraft. "

Reportedly, Monica Khanna is a qualified pilot working with Spicejet limited. She is now going viral for her latest feat. As per her Instagram profile, the pilot also takes interest in all things fashion. Khanna's effort in bringing back all passengers back to the airport with zero injuries has gained her much applause not just from the airlines representative but social media users also who have praised her for saving 185 lives. Khanna was the pilot in-command with officer Baljeet Singh.