A Malaysia Airlines flight was forced to return to Australia after a technical issue caused the plane to “shake”, “vibrate” and “shudder”.
The BBC reports that flight MH122, which was travelling from Sydney to Kuala Lumpur on Thursday when it was forced to turn back.
Carrying 224 people, the aircraft eventually landed safely at Alice Springs Airport at 17:48 local time.
A “loud bang” was occurred in the left engine, according to the airline. “This was followed by a warning indicator which appeared on the electronic aircraft monitoring system,” Malaysia Airlines said in a statement. “The captain then requested for the cabin crew to prepare for a normal landing.”
The airline had initially identified the problem only as “a technical fault on one of the aircraft’s engines”.
Passenger Sanjeev Pandev described his experience on board to the BBC. “It was shaking and vibrating and the noise was getting louder and louder” he explained. “Some people were praying and people had tears in their eyes. It was a really terrifying moment.”
He added that some of the staff appeared “nervous and terrified themselves” and instructed emergency procedures to the passengers.
The airline said there was “no chaos reported in the cabin”.
@MAS @SydneyAirport #MH122 technical failure mid air and just did an emergency landing at Alice springs. Has given a scare to the passengers. Pull your act together and make flying safe
— ChinK (@CKayaking85) January 18, 2018
Hey @MAS, can I please get a refund on my booking. Can’t gather the courage to fly with you. #mh122
— Swaroop Saakre (@SwaroopSaakre) January 18, 2018
#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
After surviving engine failure and a diversion, MH122 passengers are at @ASpringsAirport waiting to board another @MAS Malaysia Airlines flight to continue their journey. @BryanSeymour1's report at 6pm on 7 News. https://t.co/4SsepMIxYa #MH122 #7News pic.twitter.com/cxAgu7PAqx
— 7 News Sydney (@7NewsSydney) January 19, 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
UPDATE: Malaysia Airlines flight #MH122 from @SydneyAirport to Kuala Lumpur diverted to Alice Springs due to technical reasons.
(Via @MAS ) pic.twitter.com/N8IE5V5srw— Shastitaren (@Shastitaren4) January 18, 2018
In October, passengers aboard an AirAsia flight panicked as staff began screaming when the aircraft plummeted 20,000 feet. AirAsia passengers in a separate incident were also “told to pray” by the pilot after the aircraft began shaking.
