The Australian Transport Safety Bureau will investigate an engine problem that forced a Malaysia Airlines jet to divert to Alice Springs on Thursday.
The Airbus A330-300 aircraft was en-route from Sydney to Kuala Lumpur and near the coast of north-west Australia when passengers heard a loud noise and the plane started vibrating.
The pilots shut down the engine and called a Pan-Pan, one step down from an emergency, and diverted to the central Australian town of Alice Springs where emergency services were placed on standby.
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It is understood the pilots chose Alice Springs because of monsoonal weather around Darwin. The smaller airport is an international diversion airport with the necessary fire fighting and rescue services.
The ATSB released little information about the diversion but a spokesman said it would interview the flight crew and review available evidence.
Malaysia Airlines said in a statement that the aircraft, operating flight MH122, developed a technical fault in one of its engines but did not elaborate.
“Safety was not at any time compromised and the commanding captain decided to divert the flight for technical assistance,’’ it said. “The A330-300 aircraft landed safely in Alice Springs Airport at 5.48pm. “
Passengers said the aircraft shook violently for a number of minutes and the crew at one point made a “brace-for-impact” call.
“The scariest part that once the engine started to make a loud, disturbing noise, the flight attendants all seemed nervous (and) clueless,’’ passenger Sanjeev Pandey said on Twitter.
“For about 15 mins, there was no announcements. 15 mins were as long as 15 hours!”
Other passengers praised the way in which the pilots and crew handled the incident.
"I think it was a bit of a shock to the system, but I think all kudos to the staff and crew who did manage to support the passengers and handle the situation well," passenger Naveen Henri told the ABC.
The airline provided passengers with overnight hotel accommodation sand they would be transferred Alice Springs to Kuala Lumpur on another flight Friday.
The flight was scheduled to depart Alice Springs at 5.45pm and is expected to arrive in Kuala Lumpur at 9.50pm the same day, it said.
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