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Plane catches fire just before landing in Penang

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From The Star

 

Published: Thursday March 25, 2010 MYT 3:38:00 PM

 

Plane catches fire just before landing in Penang

By ANDREA FILMER

 

 

andrea@thestar.com.my

 

GEORGE TOWN: A Malaysia Airlines (MAS) Boeing 737 from Singapore caught fire during its descent at the Penang International Airport in Bayan Lepas near here Thursday afternoon, prompting an emergency landing.

 

MH674, carrying 83 passengers and seven crew members, was scheduled to land at 12.15pm but lifted out of its descent when a series of small explosions was heard from the right side of the plane, followed by flames.

 

According to passenger accounts, the pilot circled the airport once and managed to extinguish the flames before landing safely at about 12.30pm.

 

Nobody was injured in the incident.

 

Penang International Airport senior manager Abdul Wahab Mohd Yusof said the runway was closed for 20 minutes while the aircraft was towed to the bay.

 

“The runway was reopened at 12.50pm,” he said.

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Nothing concrete yet, but from what I gather, it is engine vibration followed by a precautionary shutdown as per the normal procedure. Something that pilots were trained in the simulator.

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Nothing concrete yet, but from what I gather, it is engine vibration followed by a precautionary shutdown as per the normal procedure. Something that pilots were trained in the simulator.

Yes, it is something that all crew train for. However, MH has had two lucky escapes with the B734 in the past few months (the other being the undercarriage collapse in KCH). These are wake up calls and MH should probably be more vigilant with these old birds during maintenance checks. We don't want to be "third time lucky" do we? :)

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The original article was waaaayyy too dramatic! I expected to see a burnt out wreakage...not a nicely parked 734 at the gate with an aerobridge attached.

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I think the B734s are really showing its age. Late last month I was taking a flight from BWN to KUL after long time taking AK.

 

The flight was delayed from 3pm till 8:30pm. Well, the pilot said they had documentation problems, but the stewardess said the plane had mechanical problem. All this happened when everyone was on board and about to push back. The aircraft was towed from Gate 1 to Gate 9 (BWN has only nine gates) and no one was fixing it.

 

Well, the plane was scheduled to leave in four hours (the stewardesses said so, but could be longer), we waited until we finally board the plane at 8:10pm...but they forgot to re-fuel the plane. So while everyone was in the plane, the ground crew refueled the plane. The dinner that they provided was enough_________________. (fill in the blank with a word of your own choice).

 

I would have thought MH would set itself apart from others..but the flight proved me wrong....maybe I was just unlucky on that day.....so MH is trial and error?? I supposed.

 

Oh ya, the B734 I took was 9M-MMO.

Edited by JuliusWong

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but they forgot to re-fuel the plane. So while everyone was in the plane, the ground crew refueled the plane.

 

What the???

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You see, the problem is not with the aircraft's fuselage. It was the engine. It doesn't make any sense to change the whole plane when all you need is to replace the engine.

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You see, the problem is not with the aircraft's fuselage. It was the engine. It doesn't make any sense to change the whole plane when all you need is to replace the engine.

 

Yup just like dropping in a new engine into a 20 year old car. It will still run but it will cause money to do and valuble time as work is carried out.

Edited by jadivindra

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:drinks: i hope this will satisfy the curiosity. its a statement passed to the media.

 

 

"Statement by Malaysia Airlines – Flight MH674 from Singapore to Penang

 

 

Subang (25 March 2010): Malaysia Airlines flight MH674 departed Singapore at 11.05am today and was scheduled to arrive in Penang at 12.25pm.

 

During its approach into Penang, the Captain noted that the right engine was surging with vibrations. The Captain decided to go around to further assess the situation. Following Standard Operating Procedures, a precautionary shut down of the engine was carried out. He landed the plane safely at 12.26pm.

 

Upon landing, the Captain opted to shut down the left engine and the aircraft was towed to Gate 10. All passengers disembarked using the aerobridge.

 

“The plane landed safely. All 88 passengers and 7 crew members are safe. At no time was the safety of the flight in jeopardy as our Captains and crew have been repeatedly trained to handle such situations,” said Malaysia Airlines Senior General Manager, Flight Operations, Dato’ Captain Ahmad Zuraidi Dahalan.

 

He added, “There was no fire. In this situation when the engine was shut down, the residual fuel left will be burnt off at the exhaust section of the engine, which can be visibly seen as flashes. This is normal. These flashes will dissipate once all the residual fuel burns off. The plane is perfectly safe, capable and certified to fly in this condition.”

 

Investigations into the cause of the incident are currently underway."

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I think the B734s are really showing its age.

 

That's why MH is replacing the B734 with brand new B738. Unfortunately it will take quite a few years to have all the B734 replaced.

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Yup just like dropping in a new engine into a 20 year old car. It will still run but it will cause money to do and valuble time as work is carried out.

 

Dropping a new engine into a 20 year old car is not something that happened everyday.

 

As we speak, the engine now is on a treiler, on the way to Penang. Will reach there today for the replacement work. If MH operates only 1 single B734, then they might have some problem dealing with this kind of situation. Just like when SQ A380 just arrived. They were new. Little problem surfaced and the planes were grounded. It's not the age. It's the support. Unless you ask MAS engineering to change engine of DC3 or Concorde, then maybe they will have lots of problem.

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Typical of MH! , Tho' they've decided to change, the fact remains , since the inception of MH, the replacement wud be done once these birds r really old and antique ( 732s, F27s, D10... after 20 years!) . Unlike .... ( u know who) every 5 - 7 years tukar! better still, they managed to sell at higher price when these birds r still in demand.

 

To add further to the injury, this time is worse: 738s n 33Es after for so long of thinking. Those days MH 734s ( got theirs about 3 years after the 1st 734 rolled out), MH 735s ( got theirs about 1 1/2 years after the 1st 735 rolled out) , MH 330s ( got theirs within 1 year after the 1st rolled out), MH 772ERs ( got theirs within 1 year after the 1st 772ERs introduced) and MH 744s ( got theirs within 1 year after the 1st delivered to SQ) and these were basically the first few out of the factories , in some cases as launching customers. effectively the WOW factor were there.

 

My concern wud b when MH got their 33Es, others begin to have 788s and maybe within 2 -3 years after 738s being introduced the new code C narrow body replacement wud be rolled out by the two giant makers. Unless of course MH intends to use these new aircraft for just 4 - 5 years. ....I don't think this wud easily be translated as having the edge over the others.

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Typical of MH! , Tho' they've decided to change, the fact remains , since the inception of MH, the replacement wud be done once these birds r really old and antique ( 732s, F27s, D10... after 20 years!) . Unlike .... ( u know who) every 5 - 7 years tukar! better still, they managed to sell at higher price when these birds r still in demand.

 

To add further to the injury, this time is worse: 738s n 33Es after for so long of thinking. Those days MH 734s ( got theirs about 3 years after the 1st 734 rolled out), MH 735s ( got theirs about 1 1/2 years after the 1st 735 rolled out) , MH 330s ( got theirs within 1 year after the 1st rolled out), MH 772ERs ( got theirs within 1 year after the 1st 772ERs introduced) and MH 744s ( got theirs within 1 year after the 1st delivered to SQ) and these were basically the first few out of the factories , in some cases as launching customers. effectively the WOW factor were there.

 

My concern wud b when MH got their 33Es, others begin to have 788s and maybe within 2 -3 years after 738s being introduced the new code C narrow body replacement wud be rolled out by the two giant makers. Unless of course MH intends to use these new aircraft for just 4 - 5 years. ....I don't think this wud easily be translated as having the edge over the others.

Agreed totally. MW were all lobbying for MH to place an order for aircraft early and tightfully they should be receiving their new planes NOW if they had listened. Bad planning on their part.Now all their 734's are falling apart.

 

Typical of MH! , Tho' they've decided to change, the fact remains , since the inception of MH, the replacement wud be done once these birds r really old and antique ( 732s, F27s, D10... after 20 years!) . Unlike .... ( u know who) every 5 - 7 years tukar! better still, they managed to sell at higher price when these birds r still in demand.

 

To add further to the injury, this time is worse: 738s n 33Es after for so long of thinking. Those days MH 734s ( got theirs about 3 years after the 1st 734 rolled out), MH 735s ( got theirs about 1 1/2 years after the 1st 735 rolled out) , MH 330s ( got theirs within 1 year after the 1st rolled out), MH 772ERs ( got theirs within 1 year after the 1st 772ERs introduced) and MH 744s ( got theirs within 1 year after the 1st delivered to SQ) and these were basically the first few out of the factories , in some cases as launching customers. effectively the WOW factor were there.

 

My concern wud b when MH got their 33Es, others begin to have 788s and maybe within 2 -3 years after 738s being introduced the new code C narrow body replacement wud be rolled out by the two giant makers. Unless of course MH intends to use these new aircraft for just 4 - 5 years. ....I don't think this wud easily be translated as having the edge over the others.

Agreed totally. MW were all lobbying for MH to place an order for aircraft early and rightfully they should be receiving their new planes NOW if they had listened. Bad planning on their part.Now all their 734's are falling apart.

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talking about accident even the 737-800 have a history

 

30 Sep 2006 - GOL 737-800 Crashes in Brazil.

A fuel leak through that hole likely caused Monday's fire on the China Airlines Boeing 737-800.

05 May 2007 - Kenya Airways 737-800 missing after take-off from Cameroon.. and so on

 

this just prove the theory that newer doesn't mean safer..

 

A little bit of Pro's on a classic is that the vast experience of handling and managing its fault can actually make it safer to fly and maintain.. i'll go anytime on a classic with a good maintenance and history compared to a full glass highly savvy tech a/c with 2-3years track record..

 

hehe..just my 2cents

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The aircraft now flying happily, this accident like landing gear collapsed or engine surgine are not because maintenance work or old age, things happened, even if we buy 10 new bmw, not all are perfects, even brand new delivery aircraft also have problem.

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The aircraft now flying happily, this accident like landing gear collapsed or engine surgine are not because maintenance work or old age, things happened, even if we buy 10 new bmw, not all are perfects, even brand new delivery aircraft also have problem.

 

 

You are rite Sung... Agree with it... Like Aussie Air force still flying the Caribou because of well maintenance, while... RMAF already in museum..

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During its approach into Penang, the Captain noted that the right engine was surging with vibrations. The Captain decided to go around to further assess the situation. Following Standard Operating Procedures, a precautionary shut down of the engine was carried out. He landed the plane safely at 12.26pm.

 

Upon landing, the Captain opted to shut down the left engine and the aircraft was towed to Gate 10. All passengers disembarked using the aerobridge.

 

Why the captain decide to abort landing since they already just few miles from the runway..while if they are on ground shouldn't be problem the engineer to strip off the engine for further inspection.

From my sense of thought, the captain should (prior to land) continue the approach and land with single engine sequence (beside that, they are landing at Penang Intl Airport which 747 are capable landing on that runway, so no need to use the engine reverser) because they don't need more energy/thrust=less stress on the engine it self (bring down the plane) instead abort landing and they need apply more thrust=which make more severe (think overheated engine car and accelerate more power).

 

from my non-piloting experience of thought/opinion :pardon:

 

The aircraft now flying happily, this accident like landing gear collapsed or engine surgine are not because maintenance work or old age, things happened, even if we buy 10 new bmw, not all are perfects, even brand new delivery aircraft also have problem.

I second on that,sometime even car that just came out from showroom also already experience faultiness (Generalize it).

Edited by Aiman

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Aiman , he made the decision , and there was nothing wrong with that decision , go around , assess the situation , perform the checklist , and then land the aircraft .

 

It is a norm and I don't see anything wrong with him taking some time to put the plane on the ground

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Why the captain decide to abort landing since they already just few miles from the runway..while if they are on ground shouldn't be problem the engineer to strip off the engine for further inspection.

From my sense of thought, the captain should (prior to land) continue the approach and land with single engine sequence (beside that, they are landing at Penang Intl Airport which 747 are capable landing on that runway, so no need to use the engine reverser) because they don't need more energy/thrust=less stress on the engine it self (bring down the plane) instead abort landing and they need apply more thrust=which make more severe (think overheated engine car and accelerate more power).

 

from my non-piloting experience of thought/opinion :pardon:

 

 

I second on that,sometime even car that just came out from showroom also already experience faultiness (Generalize it).

 

As u said he is probably few miles form penang and I assume thats pretty near. Obviously the crew needed more time than they had so thus to delay the landing. Aiman, for eng out landing and a normal landing are 2 diff items all together. The crew probably had to reconfigure the a/c for single engine, secure the damage engine if any etc, probably recalculate vrefssss.....Thats what I think they would need more time. thus the delay in landing. However, pardon me, I'm not familiar with the 734.

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Why the captain decide to ........................

 

From my sense of thought, the captain should .....................

 

from my non-piloting experience of thought/opinion :pardon:

 

 

It is not that easy when you have to make quick split-second decision in the air with your life and many more at stake.

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