News

AirAsia X aircraft forced to land after suspected bird strike

A suspected bird strike forced an AirAsia X flight bound for Kuala Lumpur to return to Australia.

The aircraft, carrying 359 passengers, ran into trouble after taking off from the Gold Coast at 10.20pm local time on Monday.

Passengers reported hearing loud noises and seeing sparks coming from an engine before the flight landed safely in Brisbane an hour later.

“Two bird remains were found on the runway,” the airline said.

One passenger, Tim Joga, said he heard “four or five bangs” before seeing an “orange light” outside.

“The plane started shuddering then there were a couple of loud bangs and a lot of light,” he told the Sydney Morning Herald.

AirAsia X chief executive Benyamin Ismail said the pilot and crew took “swift action” to reassure passengers during the incident.

“AirAsia X will arrange for a special flight to transport all guests on Flight D7 207 to Kuala Lumpur as soon as possible,” he said.

The Malaysian long-haul low-cost carrier had to return a flight to Perth after an engine problem last week.

See more: 

Air Asia flight turns back after ‘shaking like a washing machine’

AirAsia orders 14 Airbus aircraft in $1.4bn deal

Share article

View Comments

Jacobs Media is honoured to be the recipient of the 2020 Queen's Award for Enterprise.

The highest official awards for UK businesses since being established by royal warrant in 1965. Read more.