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Scary flight to Perth fails twice

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Some of MH A330 are so old and tired, not surprised if they got into trouble. Wonder when will they replace them...

 

 

The West Australian 4/8/09

Scary flight to Perth fails twice

 

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.

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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.

 

Interesting to know what the airline did for the pax and how speed is an important factor in this intsance. Also amazing how the older couple stated they would not travel on an A330 of MH unless they changed it....it is a good sign and hopefully they would revamp their fleet or get new Airbus aircrafts soon, especially after what happened to the Air France flight over the Atlantic.

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i flew few times on MAS A330, once was on the lease A320.

 

to tell the truth, even before the incidents of Air France, i would prefer other fleets than Airbus because most of the times, the vibration during the take off so scary!

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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.

 

Interesting to know what the airline did for the pax and how speed is an important factor in this intsance. Also amazing how the older couple stated they would not travel on an A330 of MH unless they changed it....it is a good sign and hopefully they would revamp their fleet or get new Airbus aircrafts soon, especially after what happened to the Air France flight over the Atlantic.

 

You can't please Australians with chocolates, they want you to change the entire fleet of A330s.. haha.. Giving chocolate only is considered not sincere..

 

Anyway, really hope MH will replace their aging planes soon.. give their fleet a total makeover! New 738s, a380s and some wide bodies..

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i flew few times on MAS A330, once was on the lease A320.

Believe you meant to say 332 instead of 320 ? :) Been on MAS leased 332 only twice. It was still in SR interior then. Shame shame :(

 

 

to tell the truth, even before the incidents of Air France, i would prefer other fleets than Airbus because most of the times, the vibration during the take off so scary!

I actually like MAS 333 a lot. Been on it 50+- times :D

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Why do we need to be so apologetic? Those vouchers and chocolate shows we are at least trying to say sorry that incidents do happen at times when we least expect them to happen. If it were to happen to Qantas.. my goodness.. didn't you forget how QANTAS left passengers waiting in vain at Perth Intl just fortnights ago for how many in humane hours?. They didn't even give any vouchers as far as I am concern and QANTAS don't even have a replacement aircraft for idiots sake. What matters is safety, and I personally see MAS had done what is best for the passengers.

Edited by Ignatius

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At lease give them upgrade to business class .

All 180 of them ? :blink:

With what MH has, might take them a week or two to clear the back log ! :)

 

Man, these Aussies don't realize how well they have been treated

I mean, a box of zoo-khoo-lat gratis, instead of being threatened with a serving of the 5* snek-bok :)

No brainer there !

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Come on a box of choclates and a dinner voucher that is very apologetic

at list mh give something to them and they still a life

 

Why do we need to be so apologetic? Those vouchers and chocolate shows we are at least trying to say sorry that incidents do happen at times when we least expect them to happen. If it were to happen to Qantas.. my goodness.. didn't you forget how QANTAS left passengers waiting in vain at Perth Intl just fortnights ago for how many in humane hours?. They didn't even give any vouchers as far as I am concern and QANTAS don't even have a replacement aircraft for idiots sake. What matters is safety, and I personally see MAS had done what is best for the passengers.

i agree with you mate...MAS had done the best for the passager

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Hi everyone,

 

We would like to offer some explanation as to what took place and what has happened since. We are sorry over the inconvenience experience by our passengers on flight MH127 on Sunday, and as much as we do our best to ensure every flight takes off smoothly , there are of course, unexpected situations we have to be prepared for.

 

In this case, we unfortunately experienced two aircraft incidents – the first flight which departed at 6pm had to abandon its take-off attempt as a safety precaution when one of its three hydraulics systems sensed a fault.

 

In order for us to minimize any delays, passengers were transferred to another aircraft, and the flight departed without any problems. However, the right engine began exhibiting some vibration upon reaching the top of its climb. As per routine operating procedure, the pilot of the flight shut the engine down and proceeded to return to the airport for a follow-up check – the landing was normal. Our records show that there is no history of any defect with this engine prior to the flight.

 

Once back in Kuala Lumpur, all economy class passengers were given refreshment vouchers, and Business class passengers were able to access our Golden Lounge. Passengers were also provided with accommodation at various hotels in town such as the Concorde Shah Alam, Concorde Inn Sepang, Airside Transit Hotel at KLIA and Holiday Inn Glennmarie.

 

While it’s unfortunate that we experienced two separate incidents with our aircraft, we are in the midst of service recovery with every passenger on the flight.

 

Thanks for the feedback, and we hope to be able to conclude this matter swiftly in the interest of all passengers involved.

 

Regards,

Tan Wai Fong

Head of Media Relations

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Hello everyone,

 

Would like to highlight a passenger feedback regarding the incident; he was aboard flight M127 and wished to share his experience with us. This written feedback was sent to our Manager who is based in our Perth office:

 

From: Joseph Lau

Sent: Tuesday, 4 August 2009 1:17 PM

To: [deleted]

Subject: Re: Malaysian Airlines flight MH127

 

Good morning Mr.Roslan Ismail,

 

I was a passenger on Malaysian Airlines flight MH 127 out of Kuala Lumpur on 2nd August 2009.

 

I strongly disagree with the negative comments of some passengers reported in today’s West Australian Newspaper.

 

On both the flight and the replacement flight, the cabin crew were remarkable, acting with calmness and control.

In my opinion the pilot acted with skill and professionalism.

 

Malaysian Airlines did a wonderful job in arranging for accommodation to be secured and for passengers to be

transferred to and put up in hotels in spite of the early morning hour.

 

The cabin crew and the ground staff acted with politeness, professionalism and with consideration for our situation.

 

In my opinion , Malaysian Airlines handled our situation very well.

 

Please pass my thanks to Shamsher for taking my phone call with politeness and promptly passing my message across to you.

 

I still be flying with Malaysian Airlines.

 

Yours sincerely

 

Joseph Lau.

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I strongly agree mohd sukri. Not all airlines provides those services. However, two malfunctioning parts of a/c at the same time seems to be abnormal. So, Wat i hoping is there wont be any more incidents in future which will decrease reputation upon MAS :)

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why suddenly all in red ah?

 

browser issues with the new forum software i think, it looks perfectly normal here on Google Chrome.

Edited by Walter Sim

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browser issues with the new forum software i think, it looks perfectly normal here on Google Chrome.

Unfortunately incidents like these happening to the same passengers can be very unnerving for them. That is why I avoid flying MH - I just do not feel safe on the old B734's and A333's. It is not that I do not trust the maintenance regime at MH. I am just taking my insurance policy. I know that new aircraft also do experience problems. But peace of mind is more important to me!

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Welcome back MHost..You have been very quiet for awhile..

 

The news article just shows that people can be very critical and harp on little little things to magnify your flaws.. See how dramatic they made it looked like.. it was a "Scary flight" though the planes hardly took off. They must be very happy as this time it involved airline other than Qantas.. So MH needs to be spotless!

 

With the flight cancellation, sure hotel and meal vouchers are good but behind the scene is equally or even more important (ie maintenance). Two failures at the same time..Hmmm.. like hitting the bull's eye twice.. Make sure your maintenance crew is still top notched so as to avoid MH being the star of the new series of Air Crash Investigation. Your aging planes will need more servicing.. Personally, I hope you will replace them soon.

 

Unfortunately incidents like these happening to the same passengers can be very unnerving for them. That is why I avoid flying MH - I just do not feel safe on the old B734's and A333's. It is not that I do not trust the maintenance regime at MH. I am just taking my insurance policy. I know that new aircraft also do experience problems. But peace of mind is more important to me!

 

So you will start flying with MH again when their new 738 and a380 arrive? Guess we are all waiting.. new planes who dont want..

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Owh..no wonder there were two MH planes at Perth airport yesterday arvo. Thanks Cheng Long. :drinks:

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So you will start flying with MH again when their new 738 and a380 arrive? Guess we are all waiting.. new planes who dont want..

Yes, why not, if the fares are good!

 

However, by the time the MH A380's arrive, I would have flown on them with other airlines already. For domestic routes, I would fly on Firefly or MASWings if it is on the ATR 72. But even then, today's Bangkok Airways crash is some food for thought. Maybe its the airport that is not safe! ;)

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at list mh give something to them and they still a life

Diberi betis mahukan paha !!!!

 

Bet they wouldn't get anything if they were on a Western carriers :D And let say a Western carrier operated flight is canceled, my dad told me you are entitled for NOTHING. Yes, nothing. But with Asian carriers, they will put you up in a hotel.

Edited by Isaac

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Yes, why not, if the fares are good!

 

However, by the time the MH A380's arrive, I would have flown on them with other airlines already. For domestic routes, I would fly on Firefly or MASWings if it is on the ATR 72. But even then, today's Bangkok Airways crash is some food for thought. Maybe its the airport that is not safe! ;)

 

Flee : i think if your time is up, it does not make any difference which aircraft u fly in.. I personally opine that everyone involved in doing their job, will do so to the best of their abilities.. The rest is we just have to leave it the ONE up there.

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Flee : i think if your time is up, it does not make any difference which aircraft u fly in.. I personally opine that everyone involved in doing their job, will do so to the best of their abilities.. The rest is we just have to leave it the ONE up there.

 

And always bear in mind, that the trip by car or bus to and from the airport is many times more dangerous than a flight on the shabbiest of all imaginable airlines....

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Air france flight to India was delayed and guess what they did?

 

They took all the indians and put them in a very tiny room for many many hours! Thae westeners were treated differently tho.

 

 

And guess what the indians did on arrival to India?

 

The sued the airline and won.!!

Edited by jadivindra

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