Malaysia Airlines Flight Forced To Return to Hyderabad After Mid-Air Engine Fire

A Malaysia Airlines Boeing 737-800 was forced to divert to Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (HYD) in Hyderabad, India, after a technical issue with one of the engines to catch fire mid-air. All passengers and crew disembarked safely, and no injuries were reported.

“We can confirm that flight MH199 returned to Hyderabad due to an issue with one of the engines during climb after takeoff. The aircraft landed safely at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport at 3:21 am local time; all passengers and crew disembarked safely,” said Malaysia Airlines statesmen.

Video of sparks flying from the engine of the Malaysia Airlines aircraft, filmed by MH199 passengers, has since gone viral on popular social media platforms. 

The flight, Malaysia 199, took off from Hyderabad bound for Kuala Lumpur on June 20th at 12:45 am. The 10-year-old 737-800 aircraft, with registration 9M-MXU, carried 138 passengers and crew. 

After takeoff from Hyderabad, the MH199 turned southeast and flew towards the Bay of Bengal and Kuala Lumpur. However, about fifteen minutes after departure, passengers and crew noticed sparks flying from the right-hand engine of the aircraft.

Notifying air traffic control, the pilots declared an emergency, made a 180-degree turn 60 miles off India's coast, and diverted back to Hyderabad. 

Upon arrival in Hyderabad, the aircraft was met by emergency services before passengers were allowed to deplane the aircraft. According to Malaysia Airlines, “all passengers and crew disembarked safely. 

Affected passengers will be reallocated to other flights for their continued journey.” The affected aircraft remains on the ground in Hyderabad for further inspection.

The incident comes a mere two days after another mid-air engine fire on another Boeing 737-800. On Tuesday, a Virgin Australia 737 took off from Queenstown, NZ, to Melbourne, AU, before diverting to Invercargill Airport due to a bird strike that caused one of the engines to catch fire []. 

The engine fires to two Boeing aircraft only two days apart raises more questions about the reliability of Boeing’s aircraft. 

Over the past three years, Boeing has experienced numerous failures to their aircraft, including the two 737 MAX 8 crashes in 2021 that claimed the lives of 346 passengers [] and a more recent incident with an Alaska Airlines 737 MAX 9 that caused a door plug to be blown off mid-flight [].