MH192 Najib Abdul Razak has commended the good work of the pilot and co-pilot of a trouble-hit Malaysia Airlines (MAS) plane and those on the ground in ensuring a Bangalore-bound flight landed safely back at the KL International Airport (KLIA) this morning.

The prime minister said he was glad that Flight MH192 returned safely to the airport in Sepang.

"Good work to all involved. Well done to Captain Nor Adam Azmi and his co-pilot Prakash Kumar for successfully landing the plane in an emergency situation," he said on his Facebook account today.

Najib noted that the quick action of the Kuala Lumpur Air Traffic Control in notifying the Malaysia Airlines Operations Control Centre that tyre debris had been found on the runway was commendable.

Flight MH192 left KLIA at 10.09 pm Sunday but detected a right landing gear malfunction, turned back and made an emergency landing at KLIA at 1.56am today.

"All 159 passengers and seven crew members on board are safe," said the prime minister whose Facebook has some 2.3 million "likes".

The passengers praised the pilot for having dealt with the situation in a professional manner.

Passenger Masluhuddin Khan, 30s, an Australian national of Indian descent, said that though it was a most frightening experience of his life, he was glad that the pilot made a 'perfect' emergency landing.

He said the pilot kept the passengers informed through the intercom system every 20 minutes of the measures he was taking as the aircraft maintained a holding pattern for about four hours.

"All the passengers were cool and calm on board; everything went well inside the cabin,” he said when met by reporters.

Masluhuddin and the other 158 passengers were greeted by acting Transport Minister Hishamuddin Hussein, Malaysia Airports managing director Bashir Ahmad and MAS chief executive officer Ahmad Jauhari Yahya at the KLIA satellite building.

The passengers seemed to be calm and were comfortable being interviewed by reporters.

Passenger Goorau Pouri, 31, a Swedish national, said he felt some vibration when the aircraft was on the runway ready for take-off.

“I knew there was something going wrong because there was some noise, but the captain handled the situation very well,” he said.

Research manager Van Diemen John, 40s, said the pilot was “very professional” in handling the emergency landing.

“The pilot was calm when he announced that we needed to fly back to KLIA but had to consume some fuel.

“We were hovering above the Strait of Malacca and Kuala Lumpur. Hours later, we landed safely.

“He gave clear instructions. He is very professional and he did well,” said John, who was travelling from Shanghai to Bangalore to meet his research team.

- Bernama