Summary

  • AirAsia says its flight, which made an emergency U-turn back to KLIA2, did not suffer an engine failure.

  • Airline says a technical issue with an engine involving a damaged duct caused hot air to be released.

AirAsia has denied authorities' statement claiming that its Shenzhen-bound flight, which had to make an emergency turnback to the Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2 (KLIA2), suffered an engine fire.

In refuting the Selangor Fire and Rescue Department's earlier remarks on the incident, the low-cost airlines said flight AK128 was forced to return to KLIA2 after takeoff due to a "technical issue" in one of the engines triggering an abnormal indication.

"AirAsia confirms there was no engine fire.

"Upon inspection, it was found that the indication was due to a damaged duct causing hot air to be released, requiring the aircraft to return to the bay for rectification," it said in a statement today.

It added that the aircraft is expected to return to service on March 31.

Earlier today, the department said one of the Airbus A320-216 aircraft's two engines had caught fire last night after it sustained a "pneumatic ducting burst" after departing at 9.59pm.

Pneumatic ducting is a piping or channelling system that is used on aircraft to transport air and other gases.

The department said the aircraft's Halon fire suppression system managed to put out the fire before it successfully landed at KLIA2's runway at 12.08am.

All 171 passengers and crew onboard the flight were unharmed, with firefighters evacuating the victims from the aircraft and conducting checks to ensure no further fire risks.

Crew’s swift action

AirAsia's deputy group CEO of airline operations Chester Voo said that the flight crew had acted swiftly and taken the appropriate actions based on established safety and operational protocols.

"Upon investigation, AirAsia would like to confirm that there was no engine fire as mentioned in recent media reports.

"Our pilots and cabin crew are highly trained to handle such situations and the aircraft landed safely with no further incident after the appropriate procedures were conducted," he added.

He also expressed gratitude to Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad, the Airport Fire and Rescue Service team as well as relevant safety authorities for their swift response and cooperation in handling the incident.

Safety first

He noted that AirAsia had promptly arranged a replacement flight for affected travellers.

The replacement flight departed at 3:46am this morning before landing at the Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport at 7.51am.

"Safety is always our top priority and AirAsia remains steadfast in upholding the highest safety standards to ensure the wellbeing of our passengers and crew at all times," he added.

Transport Minister Anthony Loke has since said that the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia will investigate the emergency landing as per standard procedures.