from the west australian
Scary flight to Perth fails twice
4th August 2009, 6:00 WST
Passengers to Perth were left severely shaken in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday after a bizarre and frightening night when two Malaysia Airlines A330 aircraft were involved in potentially serious emergencies.
The passengers, at least one of whom reported a back injury when one plane came to a sudden halt on the Kuala Lumpur runway, were initially offered only a dinner voucher, a box of chocolates and the hope that they would be on the next flight to Perth.
The drama started when the pilots of MH127, the 6pm flight to Perth with 180 passengers and crew, was forced to abort its take-off just before lift-off.
One passenger with aviation knowledge, who wanted to remain anonymous, said the pilots “applied full brake and thrust reverse and activated the lift dumpers on the wing to pull up”. “The pilots just told us there was a hydraulic failure as we taxied back to the terminal,” he said.
The passengers were held on the plane for more than an hour while engineers tried to fix the problem.
They were transferred to another A330 but, 20 minutes after take-off, the right-hand engine made “strange snarling sounds” before a slight shudder.
“It went on for 10 minutes when the captain announced that he was heading back to Kuala Lumpur,” the insider said. The cabin lights began to flicker to add to passengers’ concerns and the captain said the right engine had failed.
“The cabin went very quiet and a few Aussies who had been joking about the situation fell silent,” he said.
Adding to the drama, in the pre-landing briefing the senior flight attendant said: “We are hoping for the best.”
The passenger claimed some passengers made their own arrangements to get to Perth or for accommodation after the airline initially said there were no hotel rooms available. The airline later secured some rooms.
Noelene Graham, of Katanning, said she hurt her back when the first plane stopped on the runway and had to take painkillers the next morning.
She said she would not fly with Malaysia Airlines again because of the way they were treated. “They put us up in a hotel but it was not until 2am,” she said.
Daughter-in-law Kandice Fitzgerald said communication from the airline was poor. “They gave us a box of chocolates to say sorry,” she said.
Merredin couple Paddy and Joan Crook, both 82, said the airline did its best but they would not fly with it again until they got rid of the Airbus A330s.
The airline’s operations director, Tajuden Abu Bakar, said it apologised for the inconvenience to passengers. In the first incident, take-off was abandoned as a safety precaution. In the second, the pilot followed standard procedure when he shut down the engine because of its vibrations and returned to the airport.
GEOFFREY THOMAS and PHILIPPA PERRY
4th August 2009, 6:00 WST
Passengers to Perth were left severely shaken in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday after a bizarre and frightening night when two Malaysia Airlines A330 aircraft were involved in potentially serious emergencies.
The passengers, at least one of whom reported a back injury when one plane came to a sudden halt on the Kuala Lumpur runway, were initially offered only a dinner voucher, a box of chocolates and the hope that they would be on the next flight to Perth.
The drama started when the pilots of MH127, the 6pm flight to Perth with 180 passengers and crew, was forced to abort its take-off just before lift-off.
One passenger with aviation knowledge, who wanted to remain anonymous, said the pilots “applied full brake and thrust reverse and activated the lift dumpers on the wing to pull up”. “The pilots just told us there was a hydraulic failure as we taxied back to the terminal,” he said.
The passengers were held on the plane for more than an hour while engineers tried to fix the problem.
They were transferred to another A330 but, 20 minutes after take-off, the right-hand engine made “strange snarling sounds” before a slight shudder.
“It went on for 10 minutes when the captain announced that he was heading back to Kuala Lumpur,” the insider said. The cabin lights began to flicker to add to passengers’ concerns and the captain said the right engine had failed.
“The cabin went very quiet and a few Aussies who had been joking about the situation fell silent,” he said.
Adding to the drama, in the pre-landing briefing the senior flight attendant said: “We are hoping for the best.”
The passenger claimed some passengers made their own arrangements to get to Perth or for accommodation after the airline initially said there were no hotel rooms available. The airline later secured some rooms.
Noelene Graham, of Katanning, said she hurt her back when the first plane stopped on the runway and had to take painkillers the next morning.
She said she would not fly with Malaysia Airlines again because of the way they were treated. “They put us up in a hotel but it was not until 2am,” she said.
Daughter-in-law Kandice Fitzgerald said communication from the airline was poor. “They gave us a box of chocolates to say sorry,” she said.
Merredin couple Paddy and Joan Crook, both 82, said the airline did its best but they would not fly with it again until they got rid of the Airbus A330s.
The airline’s operations director, Tajuden Abu Bakar, said it apologised for the inconvenience to passengers. In the first incident, take-off was abandoned as a safety precaution. In the second, the pilot followed standard procedure when he shut down the engine because of its vibrations and returned to the airport.
GEOFFREY THOMAS and PHILIPPA PERRY
posted by nyx-thoughts at 12:17 PM
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