NEW DELHI: The tail section of an Air India flight from Hong Kong to New Delhi caught fire at the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport on Tuesday afternoon. All 158 passengers on board were reported safe, and the aircraft has since been grounded.The fire reportedly originated in the Auxiliary Power Unit (APU), a backup power system located in the tail cone of the aircraft. “The incident occurred around 12.30 p.m. and smoke was observed emanating from the APU exhaust, which is an opening on the outer portion of the tail,” said an airport official.Flight AI 315 had departed Hong Kong International Airport at 8.59 p.m. (local time) on Monday and arrived at Terminal 3 of the IGI Airport at 12.31 p.m. on Tuesday.In an official statement, Air India said: “Flight AI 315, operating from Hong Kong to Delhi on 22 July, experienced an Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) fire shortly after landing and parking at the gate. The incident occurred while passengers had begun disembarking, and the APU was automatically shut down as per system design. There was some damage to the aircraft; however, passengers and crew members disembarked normally and are safe. The aircraft has been grounded for further investigation and the regulator has been duly informed.”An airport source described the fire as a minor one. “Most passengers were unaware of the incident. There was no panic. In fact, the majority had already deboarded by the time the fire occurred,” the source said.The APU provides electrical power and air-conditioning when the aircraft is on the ground and also serves as a backup power source in the event of main engine failure during flight.Aviation safety expert Captain Mohan Ranganathan said the incident does not constitute a major safety breach. “There is an inbuilt fire extinguisher inside the APU housing, which is designed to douse such fires. In some aircraft models, a cockpit switch allows the crew to manually extinguish the fire,” he noted.Another source suggested that the fire was likely caused by residual fuel in the system following engine shutdown.ATC not alerted?In a potential breach of aviation safety protocol, Air Traffic Control (ATC) was reportedly not informed of the fire by the airline.Sources said officials at IGI Airport became aware of the incident only around 4.30 p.m after it was brought to their attention by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).“It is mandatory for airlines to inform ATC about any such incident. The ATC would then alert the airport’s control centre and the fire and safety departments to initiate immediate response. However, in this case, neither ATC nor the Safety Unit of the Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) was informed,” said a senior airport official.A response from Air India regarding the alleged protocol lapse is awaited.
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