
Malaysia Airlines (MAS) has issued an apology after one of its aircrafts made an emergency landing in Australia due to engine troubles. The incident took place on January 18 when Flight MH122, traveling from Sydney to Kuala Lumpur with 224 passengers, was diverted to the Australian outback town of Alice Springs after one of the engines shut down.
Also read: Malaysian Airlines' faulty engine forces emergency landing at Alice Springs
Passengers were asked to sit tight through the landing. They said there was tremendous jerking for five minutes. Passengers also heard a loud bang coming from the left-hand engine, which was followed by a warning indicator on the electronic aircraft monitoring system. Some of them took to Twitter to share their ordeal.
#malaysian airlines #mh122. Emergency landing at Alice Springs. The scariest part was that once the engine started to make a loud disturbing noise, the flight attendants all seemed nervous n clueless. For around 15 mins, there was no announcement.15 mins were as long as 15 hours!
— Sanjeev Pandey (@sppandey81) January 18, 2018
#Malaysian #Airlines flight #MH122 scared the hell, kudos to Pilot for safe landing in #AliceSprings, after a Brace-for-impact call. @MAS I hope to get my flight home to #HYD soon. God speed on the replacement :)
— Madhu Alasyam (@alasyam) January 18, 2018
#malaysiaairlines #mh122. Passengers at the Alice Springs airport terminal. pic.twitter.com/E4POAEneQp
— Sanjeev Pandey (@sppandey81) January 18, 2018
Malaysia Airlines flight #MH122 from Sydney to Kuala Lumper diverted to Alice Springs tonight due to an engine issue. Passengers say they were told to brace for impact! pic.twitter.com/80hb9felAa
— Brendan Grainger (@Highflyermel) January 18, 2018
Izham Ismail, the airline's chief executive, has apologized for the unfortunate event. MAS also tweeted that passengers of MH122 were set to be transported from Alice Springs to Kuala Lumpur on MH148 on January 19, 2018. The flight was scheduled to depart Alice Springs at 5.45pm and is expected to arrive in Kuala Lumpur at 9.50 pm the same day.
[UPDATE] Malaysia Airlines regrets the distress experienced by passengers of MH122 on 18 January 2018 following the diversion of the aircraft to Alice Springs Airport. For more info: https://t.co/jwiHwpReI4
— Malaysia Airlines (@MAS) January 19, 2018
"Safety was not at any time compromised and the commanding captain decided to divert the flight for technical assistance," the airline said in a statement on its website.
All affected passengers were given hotel accommodation, meals and transportation, added the statement.