'Bird strike': AirAsia flight in mid-air emergency
A bird flying into a turbine is believed to have been the reason an AirAsia flight to Malaysia has made an emergency landing in Brisbane.
Flight D7207 left the Gold Coat bound for Kuala Lumpur on Monday night when loud bangs were heard and sparks were seen flying from the engine, according to media reports.
Shocking photos show some of the turbine blades ripped from the engine and the airline said a bird strike caused the emergency.
Photos show some of the turbine blades ripped from the engine. Photo: 7 News
All 345 passengers and 14 crew on board were uninjured.
Passenger Tim Joga told Fairfax Media the aircraft began vibrating just minutes after takeoff and there were "four or five loud bangs".
“The plane started shuddering then there were a couple of loud bangs and a lot of light,” he said.
Newlywed Malissa Siaea, who was on her way to Thailand with her husband, reported "funny noises when we were getting ready for takeoff”.
“About 20 minutes into the flight fire sparked out of the right-side engine,” she told Fairfax.
“Then the plane swooped a little bit and started shaking badly.”
A bird flying into the engine is believed to have caused the emergency. Photo: 7News
Air Asia X #D7207 Gold Coast-Kuala Lumpur (A330 9M-XXT) diverted to Brisbane at 1310UT today with engine trouble. Source: Twitter/Airport Webcams
The flight landed safely at Brisbane Airport at 11.33pm on Monday.
"We are following all regulatory guidelines to ensure the safety and well-being of our guests," AirAsia X CEO Benyamin Ismail said in a statement.
"We would like to commend our pilot and crew members for their professionalism and swift action to reassure passengers ... and to land the aircraft safely."
No passengers were injured and an emergency landing was made in Brisbane. Photo: 7News
Early last week, another AirAsia plane was forced to make an emergency landing at Perth Airport after an engine malfunctioned 90 minutes into the flight to Kuala Lumpur.
That flight, D7237 with 359 people on board, on June 28 landed safely and investigations are continuing.
Video footage captured by a passenger showed the plane loudly vibrating and shaking after what passenger Brenton Atkinson said sounded like a small explosion.
"It was literally like you were sitting on top of a washing machine," he told ABC radio.
A special flight will be arranged to get D7207 passenges to Kuala Lumpur.
Newsbreak - July 4
