Malindo Air plane catches fire, passengers escape unhurt

A Malindo Air flight bound for Kuala Terengganu on Wednesday had to turn back after one of its engine caught fire.

The incident was confirmed by a Malindo Air spokesperson to Astro AWANI on Thursday.

The spokesperson said the fire occurred about five to seven minutes after the flight took off from the Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport, Subang.

In a statement issued moments later, Malindo Air explained that the incident happened during climb at about 7,000 feet.

“The aircraft fire detection system was activated and immediately the operating crew carried out the emergency checklist as per the standard operating procedure to contain the situation.

“The captain decided to turn back to Subang and the aircraft landed safely in Subang without any further incident,” the statement read.

Malindo Air confirmed that no passengers were hurt in the incident and all the passengers were later transferred to another flight to Terengganu.

“The cause of the incident is currently being investigated and has been reported to the relevant authorities, engine and aircraft manufacturer,” the statement read.

It was learnt that among the passengers onboard the aircraft were players of the Terengganu football team, who were on their way back after yesterday's match against ATM FA in Selayang.

This the fourth incident involving local aviation this month alone.

On March 8, Malaysia Airlines (MAS) flight MH370 which was scheduled to arrive in Beijing, went missing with 239 passengers and crew from various nations including Malaysia.

On March 21, MAS flight MH114 from Kuala Lumpur to Kathmandu carrying 180 passengers and crew escaped disaster while landing at the Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) after it was hit by a flock of birds.

On March 24, MAS’ Airbus A330-300 en route to South Korea made an emergency landing in Hong Kong after its main electrical generator stopped working.