Bharatiya Janata Party president M Venkaiah Naidu, Union Civil Aviation Minister Rajiv Pratap Rudy and some MPs escaped a possible air disaster in Hyderabad on Wednesday morning when Air Deccan's inaugural flight -- from Hyderabad to Vijayawada --developed a technical snag and a fire broke out on board.

Naidu, Rudy, TDP leader Yerran Naidu and K Ramamohan Rao, MP, along with a few journalists were on board when the aircraft developed a technical snag.

The snag developed when the plane was taxing off for take off. A minor fire broke out prompting the crew to arrange a safe passage through the emergency door for all occupants.

Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu who was the chief guest and Union Urban Development Minister Bandaru Dattatreya had left the airport after attending the function when the mishap took place.

Deccan Airways MD Capt Gopinath said the flames came out of one of the engines because of the accumulation of moisture. He said the company would begin normal flights to Vijayawada from Monday.

Rudy later told reporters that it was a technical snag, which resulted in flames bursting out of one of the engines.

Venkaiah Naidu said it was a lucky escape, while TDP parliamentary party leader Yerrannaidu, who was inside, said it could have been disastrous had the incident took place while in air.