A Malaysia Airlines flight was forced to land in Alice Springs after running into mid-air engine problems.
Flight MH128 departed Melbourne at about 11.20pm on Tuesday bound for Malaysia’s capital, Kuala Lumpur.
But the aircraft, which flight tracking websites list as an Airbus A330-323, diverted to Alice Springs Airport early on Tuesday morning.
Malaysia Airlines said the plane had suffered a “technical issue”. Source: Supplied
A passenger on board the flight, who asked not to be named, told SBS News everything appeared normal but the sound of the plane’s right engine “seemed odd”.
“We felt a low vibration… many of us thought it was just turbulence,” the passenger said.
“But then the right side engine became noticeably quiet”.
The passenger said the captain had announced that the engine “had stalled” and they would need to circle for two hours to burn fuel before landing at the airport.
The passenger said a fire truck met the plane when it landed without issue at 4.35am, with passengers staying on board until about 6.15am.
A fire truck met the aircraft after it circled the airport for two hours before landing safely. Source: SBS News
Malaysia Airlines and the Airport Development Group, which manages Alice Springs Airport, confirmed the plane had diverted there but did not say one of the plane’s engines had stalled.
Malaysia Airlines said it had suffered a “technical issue”, while the Airport Development Group said it had made an “emergency landing” due to “engine issues”.
A spokeswoman for Malaysia Airlines disputed the use of “emergency landing”.
“The aircraft landed safely, and all passengers were disembarked and managed in accordance with domestic flight protocols,” Rob Porter, Airport Development Group’s executive general manager, said in a statement on Tuesday.
Porter said most passengers had been rebooked on domestic flights that departed on Tuesday.
“A smaller number of passengers will stay overnight in Alice Springs and will be flown out on domestic flights tomorrow (Wednesday),” he said in a statement.
The passenger who spoke to SBS News said the captain said the airport did not have the facilities to handle the aircraft’s cargo, and those on board would not have access to their checked baggage.
Malaysia Airlines apologised for this in its statement released on Tuesday morning.
“Malaysia Airlines regrets the inconvenience caused by baggage offloading delays,” the airline said. “We are currently working with the airport handler to address equipment limitations for widebody aircraft and expedite the process.
