A China Airlines flight from Kaohsiung to Thailand was forced to return to Taiwan after the plane's instruments signaled abnormal vibrations in one of its engines. The warning turned out to be false.
Flight CI 643, a Boeing 737-800 carrying 153 passengers and seven cabin crew, took off at 9:30am yesterday from Kaohsiung Hsioakang International Airport heading for Thailand's Phuket Island.
Twenty minutes into the flight the pilot was alerted to abnormal vibrations in the plane's left engine.
PHOTO: CHANG CHUNG-YI, TAIPEI TIMES
The pilot, following emergency procedures, circled over the sea for more than two hours to use up enough fuel to meet the required landing weight. The aircraft safely landed at 12:25pm.
"The signal was later confirmed as a false one, " said China Airlines spokesman Paul Wang.
"But since the pilot has to ensure the safety of the crew members and the passengers, he made the decision to return."
Wang said that electrical devices on airplanes can sometimes produce false alarms.
"Although false alarms signaling abnormal functioning of other parts of the plane have been experienced before, this is the first time it has happened to the engine," Wang said.
After landing at the airport, the passengers were greeted at the gate by China Airlines' Kaohsiung branch manager Hsieh Shih-chian (
All 153 passengers were transferred to a later flight to continue their journey.
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