Cathay Pacific, denies report of fire

International News, National News

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Cathay Pacific has confirmed that a flight from Perth to Hong Kong made an emergency landing in Bali after an engine defect, but denied reports there was a fire on board the aircraft.

Passengers on board Cathay Pacific Flight CX 170, which departed Perth at 11.55pm last night, described hearing a “huge bang” while the flight was en route.

Emma Dade, a passenger who was on the flight with two friends, said they heard two bangs about three hours into the flight.

“I saw sparks coming from the right side engine (and) passengers alerted cabin crew and we were advised shortly after that there was a problem with the engine and it had been turned off and we were diverting to Bali,” she told 9news.com.au.

“We had to wait in the plane on the tarmac for two hours before being able to leave the plane and all passengers had to pay for an Indonesia entry visa to collect our baggage which we were told could be reimbursed later.”

A business class passenger who wanted to remain anonymous said he saw no fire in the affected engine, but said there was a “hell of a bang”.

“Within business class at least the crew were calm, and carried on with their duties in the utmost professional manner.

“On landing the passengers applauded that we landed safely. We sat on the plane for two hours and were served breakfast and continue to watch our movies!

“However on disembarking chaos began. Cathay dos not have enough cash in Bali to process our arrival so to clear immigration we were told we had to pay the $35 ourselves.

“On arrival (we) had no cash/change so we had to negotiate with other passengers our own change so we could come into the country. Shambles to be honest. No one from Cathay to be seen or heard from since disembarking.”

Another passenger was quoted in reports saying they had seen flames and sparks from the engine of the aircraft.

However, the airline said in a statement that there was no fire.

Full statement from Cathay Pacific:

Cathay Pacific confirmed that CX170 which departed from Perth to Hong Kong at 23.55 pm on 24 September 2015 was diverted to Denpasar due to a No. 2 engine defect.

The engine was shut down and emergency landing was declared. The aircraft landed safely in Denpasar. Fire services met the aircraft on arrival.

There was no fire on board. All passengers and crew are safe and unharmed.

The flight was operated by an A330 with 251 passengers onboard. The passengers are provided with hotel accommodation while we are addressing the issue.

Safety remains Cathay Pacific’s highest priority. The airline is currently investigating the incident.