KUALA LUMPUR – A Malaysia Airlines flight bound for Bangkok from Kuala Lumpur made an emergency landing at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) this evening.
Flight MH780 declared an emergency while flying over Songhkla, prompting the aircraft to return to KLIA.
Fortunately, passengers and crew on board are reported to be safe, but this has yet to be confirmed.
According to Aviation Source, the flight declared an emergency with squawk code 7700 while en route to the Thai capital.
“A Squawk 7700 code indicates an emergency onboard the aircraft. It may be due to technical, environmental or medical issues that result in an emergency situation. The Squawk 7700 can either be instructed by the ATC (air traffic control) or can be input into the transponders by pilots.”
Originally destined for Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport, Flight MH780, an Airbus A330-200 registered as 9M-MTW, departed Kuala Lumpur at 5.59pm local time, according to a statement by Malaysia Aviation Group (MAG).
Aviation Source said that after reaching an altitude of 40,000ft, the plane declared an emergency while over Songkhla and began its descent to 10,000ft.
According to Flightradar24, the plane began losing altitude while in the airspace above Kedah and Perlis. The data on Flightradar24 suggested that the plane turned back to KLIA while above Songkhla shortly after emitting an emergency code.
A statement by MAG confirmed the incident, saying flight MH780 experienced a pressurisation issue en route to Bangkok after departing KLIA at 5.59pm.
“The operating pilots initiated an emergency descent although cabin altitude was not exceeded and passenger oxygen masks were not deployed.
“The aircraft remained stable and returned to KLIA where it safely landed at 8.18pm,” the statement read. – June 24, 2024
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