Cathay Pacific Emergency Landing: Pilot Thanks Passengers For Staying Calm (VIDEO)

by Kate Auletta Subscribe to Kate Auletta's posts Posted May 16th 2011 08:00 AM

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The flight, en route from Singapore to Jakarta, was forced to turn around following the blaze.

A Reuters photographer was aboard the flight with his family. He told the news organization that roughly 20 minutes after takeoff there were "two sharp bangs".

The plane began to shake violently, he told the news site, and the lights went out. He could smell something burning, he said.

His son looked out the window and saw fire. That's when people started praying audibly.

"Behind us, passengers were praying: 'God, save our flight! Give us your protection!'" He told Reuters.

"A stewardess told us an engine had caught fire and we were on our way back to Singapore. Glued to the window, my son said he could see lights, the sea and ships and then lights on the ground. We all grabbed life jackets from beneath our seats, but the plane landed smoothly. Within five minutes, as firefighters doused the damaged engine, we walked off the plane into the terminal."

Upon landing, the pilot thanked the passengers assembled in the airport's waiting room (see video below) for staying cool and calm.

In a statement, the airline said: "We can appreciate the concern and anxiety felt by the passengers during the incident, but our captain and his crew were in control of the situation at all times. They reacted exactly as they are trained to do, shut down the affected engine and returned the aircraft safely to Singapore."

The engines, powered by Rolls-Royce's Trent 700 engines, have had problems in the past. In November, a Qantas flight was near explosion after an engine blew apart.

WATCH Captain Bradley Chic talk to passengers below:

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Ben

Looks like Rolls-Royce is having a lot of image and quality issues as of late. GE and Pratt & Whittney might get some extra business.

May 17 2011 at 5:03 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

BROKEN6STRING

Glad it was mostly a happy ending.

May 17 2011 at 12:53 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

Paul

I gather this was a twin eng airplane.It will fly ok with 1 eng as long as there is no structual damage.The vibration was probably due to a turbine disc failure which causes an imbalance and throws pieces around inside the eng.case which is designed to contain such a failure.

May 17 2011 at 12:26 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

jonnypilot

As a private pilot myself...I applaude the actions of both the passengers and the crew.
The training we get as pilots is an ongoing education....in the simulators....we train for emergencies like this
but it's even more difficult when the real thing happens.
My hats off to this crew....excellent job mates!
JS

May 16 2011 at 10:47 PM Report abuse Permalink +2 rate up rate down Reply

shar874

I was just on a Cathay Pacific flight from JFK to Singapore. That sure doesnt make me feel good. I'm so happy I made it home safe and sound.

May 16 2011 at 10:45 PM Report abuse Permalink -1 rate up rate down Reply

sbrewton9

Glad I wasn't on that flight as my ability to panic in any situation would have been quite embarrassing considering the other passengers cool demeanor. I am reminded of the Ron White joke about flying on a plane that loses one its engines. When asked by the man next to him how far can the plane fly with just one engine White responded.... all the way to the scene of the crash...

May 16 2011 at 10:00 PM Report abuse Permalink +3 rate up rate down Reply