KUALA LUMPUR: Japan Airlines flight JL724 enroute to Tokyo Narita International Airport (NRT) was forced to turn back last night due to possible engine failure.
The flight which was supposed to have taken off at 10.50pm had its flight arrival status diverted at approximately 3am.
A passenger on board, who requested anonymity, said flight passengers were sitting in the aircraft since 10.30pm awaiting for departure and were delayed for another two hours.
“We were scheduled to depart at 10.50pm, but we could hear that flight crew were checking and restarting the engine.
“We finally took off at about 1.30am,” the passenger said.
Two hours into the flight at about 3am, the passenger said while he was trying to take a nap, the flight captain announced that the flight had to turn back due to ‘engine problems’.
“We landed back in KLIA (Kuala Lumpur International Airport) at 3.40am, but did not leave the aircraft for another hour.
“Although the captain had assured us that we need not worry, I had actually felt that the flight was quite bumpy throughout the two hours that we were airborne,” the passenger said.
Passengers of JL724 were arranged to wait at the Cathay Pacafic lounge for further announcement.
“They have rescheduled our next flight at 9.50am by Malaysia Airlines to the Narita Airport,” the passenger said.
Earlier last month, AirAsia X flight D7237 enroute to Kuala Lumpur from Perth, Australia was forced to turn back one-and-a-half hours into the trip due to a technical issue.
This was followed by Malindo Air's flight OD132 that left Lahore, Pakistan around 9.25pm (local time) headed for Kuala Lumpur was diverted to Delhi due to an engine issue.
A second Malindo Air flight OD163 from Dhaka to Kuala Lumpur two days later was forced to return to the Shahjalal International Airport due to a cracked windshield.