Indonesian Passenger Plane Makes Emergency Landing

Indonesian passenger plane makes emergency landing

JAKARTA, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) — A Boeing 737-400 belonging to Indonesian flag carrier Garuda Indonesia made an emergency landing on the Sumatra province of Riau on Tuesday morning due to engine failure.

“The pilot told us one of the engines shut off. He asked all passengers to remain calm as he managed to control the situation,” Azwar Anaz, a legislator aboard the plane, was quoted as saying by the Detikcom online news service shortly after the incident.

The plane carried 82 passengers, including Minister of Social Affairs Bachtiar Chamsyah and five legislators.

The engine problems came 40 minutes after departing from the Polonia Airport in Medan, where another Boeing 737 crashed on Monday killing 149 people on board and on the ground.

Passengers said they heard small explosion before Captain Soni Bagus announced the engine failure on the right wing.

The plane was en route to Jakarta.

“The pilot decided to make an emergency landing at the nearest airport,” Anaz said. The plane landed safely on the Pekanbaru airport in the provincial capital of Pekanbaru.