Saudia flight aborts takeoff after engine smoke

By GHAZANFAR ALI KHAN | ARAB NEWS

RIYADH: A Jeddah-bound Saudi Arabian Airlines flight with 182 passengers on board aborted takeoff at India’s Chennai airport on Monday after the pilot detected smoke coming from one of its engines.

All passengers were evacuated from the aircraft and no injuries were reported.

“We are unaware of the flight details. Since we are operating four carriers, including Saudia, Nas Air and SAMA, we are trying to find out more information about the incident and when the plane and its passengers will arrive at King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah,” said Khaled Al-Khaibari, a spokesman for the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA).

According to reports from India, the plane was taxiing on the runway for takeoff when the pilot detected smoke. He immediately contacted the control tower to steer it back to a parking bay.

There was no one to answer calls at Saudia’s public relations department in Riyadh.

Last month, a Saudia flight to the Indian town of Kochi was forced to return to Dammam’s King Fahd International Airport following a technical malfunction mid-flight. The pilot was forced to make a U-turn one hour into the flight after being alerted of a technical fault by the aircraft’s flight monitoring devices.

In May, a Saudia plane made an emergency landing in the southern Najran province after the pilot reported smoke in the cockpit. The aircraft carrying 79 passengers and crew was around 20 minutes into the flight from Sharourah to Riyadh when the pilot detected smoke and turned back.

In another instance, a flight on behalf of Saudi Arabian Airlines to Jeddah with 22 crew members aborted takeoff from Cairo at low speed.

The runway was closed for about 2.5 hours while debris was removed from the runway. The aircraft had brought 416 passengers to Cairo on a chartered flight and was scheduled to return to Jeddah without passengers.

Comments

MOHAMMED

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Yah they are operating four airlines, thats a big number and they will have no information about the incident. Mr Khaled Al-Khaibari please get real.

TAWFEEQ ABDULKAREEM

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Saudia on the news again! It is time the authority should rejuvenate all the administrative and technical units of the airlines to avoid catastrophes. Early this week it is reported that the airlines is running at a vast loss, and few weeks before another emergency landing, and then before late take off beyond official schedules. This country is so blessed with resources that all these rumors making rounds every now and then will not augur well for the fame and prestige of a resourceful Saudi Arabia. Should this kind of news continue to make waves on daily newspapers and orchestrated by western media, then would come a time when no one would be interested in flying Saudia even at a most discounted rate. Enough is enough! Little advice is enough for a wise!

MART

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Than ...what does come out of the engine ?

ARABNEWS READER

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HATS OFF to the alert saudi pilots

FSUBHAN

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This is bad news for Saudi Airlines. Saudi Airlines must have change the Airplanes, specially to Long Distance.
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