AirAsia engine catches fire on take-off, lands safely in Maldives

An AirAsia flight caught fire upon take-off, and landed 22 minutes later on Thursday (Sept 5).

The Thai AirAsia flight was forced to make a safe emergency landing at the Velana International Airport in Malé, Maldives.

The airline said it encountered a technical issue just 22 minutes after it took off.

Local witnesses claim an engine of the plane was on fire when it took flight.

The report on the Maldivian portal The Edition says flight FD178 departing from Velana International Airport to Bangkok, Thailand, returned after an engine caught fire.

A Maldivian daily cited a passenger as saying the fire was put out while the plane was airborne before making the emergency landing.

The pilot informed all 58 passengers of the situation before landing; it said.

AirAsia Group confirmed the incident, saying it was a technical issue during take-off adding that safety Head Captain Ling Liong Tien said the captain then turned back and requested a priority landing at Velana International Airport, in line with standard operating procedures.

The aircraft landed safely at 8.41pm local time and underwent an engineering assessment in Malé.

In June 2017, TISG reported an incident where an AirAsia flight became famous thanks to a plea by the pilot to pray for safety.

Passengers on the Sunday flight reported hearing a loud explosion before the Airbus A330 began to shudder, with some saying the pilot urged them to pray so they could return safely.

The pilot drew criticism from passengers for his prayer call. The AirAsia X flight bound for Malaysia was forced to return to Perth due to an engine failure.