A China Eastern flight bound for Shanghai was forced to land in Australia on Sunday after a massive gaping hole was discovered in the plane's engine.
The pilot of China Eastern Airlines flight MU736 reported engine problems yesterday just one hour after its 8.40pm take-off from Sydney to Shanghai.
People on board the Airbus 330-220 twin jet, which can hold up to 297 passengers, said they heard a "loud sound" coming from the left engine just after take-off. They could also smell something burning in the aircraft.
The flight could hold up to 297 passengers.
Crew members then noticed that the inner cowling of the engine had been ripped open. They then raised the alarm with the captain.
“Engine number one fault,” the pilot can reportedly be heard clearly telling Sydney Tower air traffic control in an unconfirmed audio recording circulating online.
The mid-air emergency forced the flight to return to Kingsford Smith International Airport a little after 10pm, where it landed safely after circling for an hour. All passengers and crew were evacuated safely and no injuries were reported.
Passengers were sent to nearby hotels on Sunday evening before being placed on new flights.
"The moment we took off, the wing to my left just started making a massive amount of noise," one passenger told local Australian media.
Another said:
"We went up in the air and all of a sudden we heard this noise… it kind of smelt like burning. Oh, I was scared. Yeah, I was really scared. Our group was terrified."
A female passenger, identified only as Eva, was quoted as saying:
"The cabin crew went out and told us to fasten our seatbelts and tried to calm us down, but we were actually very panicked because we had no idea what was happening."
Passengers sitting near the engine were told to clear their seats.
“The moment that we took off the wing to my left just started making a massive amount of noise and they cleared all the seats,” a person aboard the flight told Australia's Nine Network.
Some English-speaking passengers also said that it was difficult to figure out what was happening at the time of the incident, as most flight announcements were in Chinese only.
But passengers praised the staff for their professionalism. Said passenger Madeleine Frith:
“I didn’t realise, and no one behind the wing, realised how big the engine issue was. It looks like a pretty big dent… Just the fact we were close to it being worse... I’m glad we’re all safe.”
Another passenger, Leigh Stewart, said he felt "very lucky".
Flight tracking data showed MU736 heading north before turning southwest, then heading east before finally turning around to head back to Sydney.
The explosion was reportedly so loud that residents in Sydney's southwestern suburbs could also hear it from home, according to local news reports.
After a smooth landing, local fire crews rushed the scene.
Fire crews rushed to the scene after the plane safely landed.
China Eastern said that all passengers were placed in nearby hotels expected to travel on new flights today. Many flights out of Sydney were further delayed Monday due to fog that eventually cleared up earlier in the morning.
“The crew observed the abnormal situation of the left engine and decided to return to Sydney airport immediately. All passengers and crew members were landed safely,” said Kathy Zhang, a general manager at China Eastern.
The flight was code-shared with Australia airline Qantas.
China Eastern is currently investigating the cause of the incident together with the Australian Transport Safety Bureau.
The plane spotted at Sydney's airport on Monday afternoon.
A spokeswoman for Rolls-Royce, which manufactured the plane’s engine commented on the incident, saying: “We are aware of the incident and will be working closely with our customer and relevant partners to understand the cause of the issue.”
China Eastern also confirmed that it was investigating, with Zhang saying:
“The engine for the aircraft is a big issue so we need to investigate with the [Chinese and Australian governments and aviation authorities], with the Rolls Royce company and with our headquarters as well.”
Speculating on cause of the faulty engine, aviation expert Jason Middleton, a professor at University of New South Wales, said: “When one of these things happens you often don’t know how the damage began. It could have begun from loose screws."
He added:
"Looks like there's obviously been some preliminary damage in order for that to happen... It's quite possible [there[ was some minor damage that they didn't see... At its climbing speed it will be getting faster and faster and that may have been the trigger to rip off some of that engine casing."
[Images via BBC, @flightorg, The West, 9News, Daily Mail]
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