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Philippine airplane flied back due to engine failure

Posted March. 17, 2014 02:54,   

한국어

An aircraft of Philippine Airlines that was bound to the Philippines from the Incheon International Airport on Saturday afternoon returned to the departing airport due to an engine failure, striking fear into all the passengers for 100 minutes. The aircraft was flying to Boracay, one of the major resort islands in the Philippines.

According to the Incheon International Airport and the Incheon International Airport Police, the aircraft (PR491) took off at 9:44 p.m. on Saturday. But some flames burst from an engine under the right wing after blowing-up noises, and then the aircraft started to be shaken as if it was going through some turbulence. Some passengers in distress put on respirators while some women passengers were terrorized due to the flames in the engine and the shaking. One passenger said that there were an explosion sound and flames at the same time not long after the takeoff.

The captain of the aircraft informed the Seoul Regional Aviation Administration that it would return to the airport due to serious noises and smells in the cabin. The aircraft got a problem when landing again. As it approached the runway, the landing wheels did not come out properly. After four to five attempts, the aircraft landed successfully in one hour and 40 minutes. It was 11:21 p.m. on Saturday and the passengers could finally be relieved.

The passengers were in fear for their lives for over 100 minutes. One woman passenger said, “The flight attendants prepared for an emergency such as moving passengers and having kids wear life vests before the last landing attempt.” Another passenger said, “The situation was so urgent that some said the emergency exit doors should be opened by force if the last landing attempt fails.”

Regarding the accident, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport of Korea announced, “We were reported that the accident was caused by a ‘bird strike,’ a bird is sucked into an engine of the aircraft during takeoff… In the process of attempting to land down several times, the captain checked with the ground crew whether the wheels came out of the airframe, which took him some time for landing.”

An official from the Incheon International Airport said, “The exact cause of the accident cannot be simply determined because it did not occur in a mooring or runway of the airport… I understand that the Philippine aviation authority is working to find the cause.”