KUALA LUMPUR (AFP) ― A Malaysia Airlines plane with 166 people aboard was forced to make an emergency landing in Kuala Lumpur early on Monday in another blow to its safety image after the loss of flight MH370.
Flight MH192, bound for Bangalore, India, turned back to Kuala Lumpur after it was discovered that a tire had burst on takeoff, the airline said.
“As safety is of utmost priority to Malaysia Airlines, the aircraft was required to turn back to KLIA (Kuala Lumpur International Airport),” the airline said in a statement.
The plane landed safely at 1:56 a.m. (1756 GMT), nearly four hours after it took off, the flag carrier said.
“All 159 passengers and seven crew members on board have disembarked from the aircraft.”
The airline said tire debris discovered on the runway had led to the decision to bring the Boeing 737-800 aircraft back.
“They have landed safely ― thank God,” tweeted Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein, who is overseeing Malaysia’s response to MH370.
The airline is still reeling from the loss and presumed crash of flight MH370, which disappeared March 8 while en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.
MH370 inexplicably diverted and is now believed to have crashed into the remote Indian Ocean with 239 people aboard.
Hishammuddin had tweeted that MH192 went into a holding pattern as other reports quoted officials saying it would only be allowed to land once all of its fuel had been burned off.
koreaherald@heraldcorp.com
