Autopilot defects reason for MH198 turnback - Liow

Transport Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai said the pilots of Malaysian Airlines MH198 decided to make a U-turn to Kuala Lumpur early this morning because of problems with its autopilots.

He said the flight which returned to the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) was not suitable for manual flying.

Problems on MH198 was both autopilots unserviceable with the flight to Hyderabad not suitable for manual flying, pilots decided to turn back
— Liow Tiong Lai (@liowtionglai) September 14, 2014

It was earlier reported that the flight to Hyderabad made an air turnback early this morning.

It was rescheduled to depart at 12:00 noon today (Saturday).

In a statement by the national carrier, the MH198 will operate as MH198D and depart from the KLIA and arrive Hyderabad at 01.35 pm the same day.

"MH198 has been rescheduled to operate as MH198D to depart Kuala Lumpur at 12:00 noon on 14 September and expected to arrive Hyderabad at 01.35 pm the same day," the statement said.