"We departed Penang at 7am and after about 15 minutes the captain announced that we were turning back.
"The wheel could not be stowed after take off," passenger Phuah Kylie told Malaysiakini this morning.
A check with Firefly's Penang counter confirms that an "aircraft swap" was done as repairs could not be done in due time.
Firefly is Malaysia Airlines' budget carrier.
In a statement today, it confirmed that the aircraft's landing gear was unable to retract after being airborne and was ordered to turn back for safety reasons.
"This was a normal landing, therefore Airport Fire Rescue Services was not required to be deployed.
"All 64 passengers and 4 crew members on board have disembarked from the aircraft.
"FY1002/MH9948 was retimed and departed from Penang at 8:50am on April 24 and arrived safely in Kota Bharu at 9.50am the same day," said Firefly's Marketing & Communications Department.
Faulty plane back for repairs
It is understood that the faulty ATR 72 aircraft has been sent back to Firefly's Subang base for repairs.
Phuah said that the crew were "very professional" throughout the incident and passengers were mostly calm.
"It's just that because of MH370 that people get nervous about things like this.
"There was no panic on the plane and everyone followed instructions.
"The crew were very good. They handled the situation professionally," she said.
However, she claimed two foreign passengers on board the initial aircraft opted to cancel their flight and changed carriers after the incident.
The incident comes days after Malaysia Airline's MH192 was forced to make an emergency landing due to a burst tire.
Meanwhile, search operations are still ongoing for MH370, which disappeared off radar screens 48 days ago.
Source: Malaysiakini
No comments:
Post a Comment