A Turkish Airlines widebody aircraft carrying 236 people made a “full emergency landing” at Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport in Kolkata Wednesday afternoon after its right engine reportedly caught fire shortly after departure from Kathmandu.

Airport authorities confirmed that all 225 passengers and 11 crew members were unharmed. The aircraft is currently stationed at the Kolkata airport, undergoing a technical inspection.

Flight THY-727, an Airbus A330-300 bound for Istanbul, took off from Nepal’s Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) at 1.29 pm. Within four minutes, the crew detected a malfunction in the right engine. According to Gyanendra Bhul, deputy spokesperson for the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN), the pilot immediately informed the Kathmandu tower and shut down the affected engine.

The aircraft travelled over the Dharke area in Dhading district for approximately 10 minutes to assess the situation. While the crew had the option to return to Kathmandu or divert to Bhairahawa, they determined the aircraft was unfit for long-haul travel and opted for an emergency landing in Kolkata. Subsequently, the plane touched down safely in Kolkata at 3.03 pm.

The emergency landing comes during a period of heightened concern regarding aviation safety. Last week, a Learjet 45 charter aircraft operated by VSR Ventures crashed in Maharashtra’s Baramati while landing, killing five people, including Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has since ordered a special audit of the operator.

On June 12, 2025, an Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner crashed into a building in an Ahmedabad suburb seconds after takeoff. The crash, which killed 260 people – 241 on board and 19 on the ground – was attributed to a sudden loss of thrust after fuel control switches reportedly moved to the “cutoff” position.