The cabin crew of a Jet Airways flight mistook a flickering red light for a fire in the aircraft's engine just before take-off after which the pilot over-reacted and ordered emergency evacuation that resulted in injuries to 25 passengers last month, a probe report has said.
It was found that there was no blaze or even smoke in the cabin of the 9W-2302 Mumbai-Chennai flight, which was then taxiing to the runway and was stopped on the taxiway by the pilot, Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said.
The red flicker emanating from the anti-collision light at the bottom of the Boeing 737-800 fuselage created an illusion that was mistaken for a fire by the crew
members, the final probe report on the August 27 incident at the Mumbai airport said.
The DGCA blamed the captain for "over-reacting" to the situation and ordering evacuation even after all indicators inside the cockpit showed there was...