Updated news: Plane skids upon landing
Anxious family members of passengers aboard flight MH2718 waiting at Sibu Airport’s Arrival Hall.
SIBU: A Malaysia Airlines plane travelling from Kuala Lumpur to Sibu has skidded upon landing at Sibu Airport, according to anxious family members of those on board the plane.
Flight number MH2718 inbound from Kuala Lumpur was scheduled to land at 9.35pm, but the family members of its passengers have been waiting at the airport’s Arrival Hall for over two hours for their loved ones.
Flight information panels at the airport list the plane’s status as “Landed” at 9.55pm, but as at 11.30pm none of its passengers have come through the gates of the Arrival Hall.
Photos taken by passengers of the flight are currently circulating on social media, purportedly of the plane lying on its fuselage and emergency escape chutes deployed at its exits.
In a status update on its official Facebook page, Malaysia Airlines confirmed the incident took place at 10.17pm during heavy downpour at the airport.
The plane was carrying 61 passengers and six crew members, none of whom suffered any injuries in the incident.
Malaysia Airport Sibu manager Zainuddin Abu Nazir said a special team from the Department of Civil Aviation Malaysia will arrive on April 9 to carry out an investigation of the incident.
The airport will be closed until 10am on Sunday, April 9. Flights affected will be advised by the respective airlines if longer closure of airport is anticipated.