Malindo flight diverts to Delhi after engine trouble
Incident occurs on same day that an AirAsia X flight is forced to turn back to Perth after experiencing engine issues.
PETALING JAYA: Those who say lightning never strikes the same place twice were disproven on Sunday, amid news that a Malindo Air flight was forced to divert to Delhi due to engine issues.
Malindo Air flight OD132, which left Lahore at around 9.25pm local time on June 25, was scheduled to land in Kuala Lumpur.
However, it was forced to divert to Delhi after the pilot followed the standard operating procedure for emergency situations.
According to a statement issued by Malindo today, the flight landed safely at the nearest airport – Gandhi International Airport – within 40 minutes.
“All 75 passengers on board were safe and were given a night’s stay in Delhi airport hotel. Passengers were sent to Kuala Lumpur on OD206 & OD208 the following day,” it said.
The statement said Malindo Air technical crew were immediately dispatched to the airport to conduct first-hand inspections together with the technical handler under Jet Airways.
It added that investigations with engine manufacturer and Boeing are ongoing to determine the root cause of the issue.
The incident bears an uncanny resemblance to that of AirAsia X flight D723, which departed from Perth for Kuala Lumpur that same morning with 359 people on board.
The Airbus A330 aircraft was about 90 minutes into the flight when it began experiencing problems.
An explosion was said to have occurred on the left engine with one of the fans on the turbine having broken off. The plane was shaking like a “washing machine” according to some passengers who were contacted by Australian media.
The aircraft landed safely in Perth at 10am. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) says it is investigating the incident.
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According to AFP, the incident was the second one this month involving an Airbus A330 in Australia. Previously, a China Eastern flight was forced to make an emergency landing in Sydney after a huge hole appeared in one of its engine casings.