False Alarm: Air India Flight caught fire: Rumor spread like wildfire.

False Alarm: Air India Flight caught fire: Rumor spread like wildfire.

Mangalore today

Mangalore, July 24: Rumor of Air India Flight catching fire spread like wild fire. It was CNN, Times and other TV channels flashed false news: “Air India Flight caught fire at Mangalore” at 10.30 PM.


Seeing the flash news in various channels Mangalore Today contacted an Airport official and Bajpe Police station to verify the news. It was indeed panic moments. We have received few calls from our readers too. We could not give them a sure answer as we were busy verifying the news. People of Mangalore are still not recovered from the shock of Air India express crash last month.

What we have found from our exploration is that there was indeed a fire alarm heard by travelers in the airport and outside. It all started with a passenger calling an air port official saying there was smoke in the tail part of the aircraft. The official in turn alerted the ATS signal staff. They in turn communicated with the pilot of the Air India Express which had just taken off. The pilot has informed the ATS that there was nothing wrong and every system in the aircraft was functioning normal.


Airport officials did not want to take any risk. They have asked the pilot to fly back to the airport. In the meanwhile security and fire department were alerted to stand by. Fire engine siren went off as a preparation for any eventuality. The Flight returned to the airport as per the instruction.  The Aircraft was thoroughly checked and confirmed by security and technical personals. The Flight took off half an hour late due to the panic call.


The passenger who raised the false alarm also phoned a few of his friends. Rumor spread like wild fire. Now, who is to blame for the one hour panic and flashing sensational news?