The Malay Mail Online April 21, 2014
SEPANG, April 21 — Passengers of a troubled MAS flight to Bengaluru (Bangalore), India, praised the pilot for having turned back and landed the aircraft safely at the KL International Airport early today.
Passenger Masluhuddin Khan, 30s, an Australian national of Indian descent, said that though it was the most frightening experience of his life, he was glad that the pilot made a ‘perfect’ emergency landing.
MAS Flight MH192 left KLIA at 10.09 pm yesterday for Bengaluru but detected a right landing gear malfunction, turned back and made an emergency landing at KLIA at 1.56am today.
The plane, carrying 159 passengers and seven crew, was piloted by Capt Nor Adam Azmi, with Prakash Kumar as the co-pilot.
Masluhuddin said the pilot kept the passengers informed through the intercom system every 20 minutes of the measures he was taking as the aircraft maintained a holding pattern for about four hours.
“All the passengers were cool and calm on board; everything went well inside the cabin,” he said when met by reporters.
Masluhuddin and the other 158 passengers were greeted by acting Transport Minister Datuk Seri Hishamuddin Tun Hussein, Malaysia Airports managing director Tan Sri Bashir Ahmad and MAS chief executive officer Ahmad Jauhari Yahya at the KLIA satellite building.
The passengers seemed to be calm and were comfortable being interviewed by reporters.
Passenger Goorau Pouri, 31, a Swedish national, said he felt some vibration when the aircraft was on the runway ready for take-off.
“I knew there was something going wrong because there was some noise, but the captain handled the situation very well,” he said.
Research manager Van Diemen John, 40s, said the pilot was ‘very professional’ in handling the emergency landing.
“The pilot was calm when he announced that we needed to fly back to KLIA but had to consume some fuel.
“We were hovering above the Strait of Malacca and Kuala Lumpur. Hours later, we landed safely.
“He gave clear instructions. He is very professional and he did well,” said John, who was travelling from Shanghai to Bengaluru to meet his research team.
Meanwhile, a passenger from Penang who declined to be named said the emergency landing was well coordinated.
“The pilot and crew members followed procedures correctly. It was well handled and I did not panic,” he said, adding that he had not informed his family members yet of the incident.
Meanwhile, Australian Miranda Jason Juse, 30, said that due to the professional action of the pilot and crew members, all passengers felt calm during the four hours that the flight circled above the Strait of Malacca.
“The pilot was doing his best for a safe landing and the aircraft landed completely softly. It was calm once we landed safely,” he said.
All the passengers were relatively lethargic after the ‘ordeal’ but they still had the strength to give reporters a smile, appreciative of the fact that they were safe. — Bernama