The Cebu Pacific Air plane made an emergency landing at KKIA on Wednesday evening.
KOTA KINABALU (March 23): A Cebu Pacific Air’s Airbus A320 which made an emergency landing at the Kota Kinabalu International Airport (KKIA) on Wednesday evening after a suspected problem with its engine, is still grounded pending repairs.
A source said all the 92 passengers and crew would depart for their intended destination Singapore on another plane.
“The aircraft is still grounded at KKIA. It has not been approved for takeoff as it required repairs.
“Another aircraft will be flown in to transport the stranded passengers to their destination tonight,” said the source, adding that the passengers are staying at a hotel near KKIA.
The plane took off from Cebu in the Philippines at 7.55pm on Wednesday to Singapore when it experienced a problem with its left engine during the flight.
The pilot decided to land at KKIA at 10.22pm.
According to data from flight trackers, the plane was in the air for just under two hours, around half the usual flight time from Cebu to Singapore.
A Singaporean passenger on the flight told Lianhe Zaobao that the 30 minutes it took for the plane to make the forced landing was the most frightening period in his life. The civil servant said the left engine appeared to be emitting sparks, and the aircraft seemed to be operating with just one functioning engine.
Sabah Fire and Rescue Department deputy director Farhan Sufyan Borhan said that the department was informed of the incident by the airport’s fire department at about 9:50 pm.
The department sent a team to the airport to assist the ground team.
All passengers and crew were safe after the plane landed at KKIA, and the Philippine airline arranged accommodation for the passengers in the city.
The budget carrier assured that the aircraft “safely landed” at the KKIA.
“Our immediate priority was to ensure the safety of our passengers and personnel,” said the airline which apologized to its customers for the inconvenience.
Cebu Pacific also said it had arranged to bring the passengers to their intended destination.