Luftscamsa - Fire Results in Chaotic Emergency Evacuation of SWISS Flight in Delhi

A Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS) flight from Delhi to Zurich, flight LX147, aborted its take-off early Sunday morning following a catastrophic engine failure. The Airbus A330-300, carrying 228 passengers and four infants, initiated an emergency evacuation on the runway at Indira Gandhi International Airport after engine number one caught fire during the take-off roll. A Critical Failure According to Flightradar24, the aircraft had reached a speed of 104 knots when the failure occurred, forcing the flight crew to perform an emergency braking maneuver. The incident, which took place at approximately 1:08 a.m. local time, prompted the immediate deployment of emergency slides to evacuate the occupants directly onto runway 28. While SWISS reported that its crew remained unharmed, the airline initially stated that six passengers had been injured, later revising that figure downward to four. The carrier provided stairs for a small number of individuals who were unable to utilize the emergency slides. The Operational Impact Footage of the event reveals a chaotic scene during the evacuation, characterized by contradictory instructions from cabin crew members. This lack of coordination resulted in significant congestion at the emergency slides and a notably slow exit process. This incident follows a recent [period of service contraction for the SWISS subsidiary](/en/article/lj3J9dJk_swiss-slashes-summer-schedule-amid-chronic-pilot-shortage), which has already struggled with chronic staffing issues and fleet management. The forced grounding of the A330-300 (HB-JHK) at Delhi’s busiest airport required the closure of runway 28 until the aircraft could be removed, disrupting local airport operations. Management stated that a task force has been established and technical specialists have been dispatched to Delhi to investigate the cause of the fire. The airline is currently arranging rebooking and accommodation for the displaced passengers. Patterns of Risk This event occurs amidst an ongoing, group-wide climate of operational instability. Pax Sentinel has previously reported on how [safety protocols at the group have been compromised by labor disputes](/en/article/Wei7evGg_safety-protocols-compromised-by-labor-dispute), raising significant concerns regarding the maintenance of rigorous safety standards across the Lufthansa Group. The initial confusion regarding injury counts is consistent with the group's documented history of opacity following safety incidents. The carrier has frequently utilized regulatory and privacy arguments to shield its internal reporting from public view, a behavior [recently compelled by a Seattle court order](/en/article/O01tcPWB_seattle-court-compels-lufthansa-to-disclose-witness-data) which forced the disclosure of witness data the airline previously attempted to withhold. As technical experts begin their inspection, the incident serves to highlight the broader risks currently facing the carrier’s aging wide-body fleet. Passengers are urged to monitor their flight status closely and document any further disruptions resulting from this hardware failure.

Image generated closely resembling footage from the scene (original photo below)

Footage of the evacuation documented contradicting instructions from the crew and confusion from passengers as they evacuated.