Nation & World News

Giant hole opens in plane’s engine well during flight, panic erupts during midair emergency

A China Airlines Airbus 330, similar to the one that made an emergency landing on Sunday, taxis on the runway at Beijing's Capital Airport in China. A China Eastern flight bound for Shanghai was forced to return to Sydney after a gaping hole opened in the plane’s engine well.
A China Airlines Airbus 330, similar to the one that made an emergency landing on Sunday, taxis on the runway at Beijing's Capital Airport in China. A China Eastern flight bound for Shanghai was forced to return to Sydney after a gaping hole opened in the plane’s engine well.
By Shelby Lin Erdman, Cox Media Group National Content Desk
June 13, 2017

A giant hole sheared open on the engine casing of a China Eastern Airlines jet during a flight between Sydney, Australia, and Shanghai, China, Sunday evening, causing a mid-air emergency and forcing the plane back to Sydney.

Terrified passengers said they heard a loud noise and "burning" smell on the Airbus 330, according to The Guardian.

Social media pictures show the massive hole in the air intake cowl encasing the Rolls-Royce Trent 700 engine.

"The moment that we took off, the wing to my left started making a massive amount of noise and cleared all the seats," Nine Network reported a passenger said.

🌏 Pixie P ✈ (@ThePixiePress) June 11, 2017

"All of a sudden … it kind of smelled like burning," another passenger told Network Seven.

Flight MU736 safely returned to Sydney Sunday evening. No one was injured, and an investigation is underway, according to the China Eastern Air.

About the Author

Shelby Lin Erdman, Cox Media Group National Content Desk

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