KUCHING, Feb 28: SUPP Dudong chairman Wong Ching Yong was among passengers on board a MYAirline flight from Sibu to Kuala Lumpur who were left terrified yesterday (Feb 27) after the plane was forced to abort landing on its final approach to Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) 2 due to another aircraft being on the runway.
According to Wong, many passengers on board the Z98202 flight were screaming when the plane suddenly made a pull up at a steep angle with the engines roaring very loudly on its final approach to the terminal.
“The passengers sitting beside me were very stressed and I was stressed up too.
“A minute later, the captain announced that he had to abort the landing because there was an aeroplane on the runway. It was a shocking revelation by the captain who apologised and informed us that the plane would land 10 minutes later.
“This time, the plane landed at KLIA Terminal 2 without a hitch. Passengers were extremely unhappy at the sudden ‘let go’ which was the term used by the captain. They complained to each other on the way out of the plane. They were very angry and so was I,” he said in a statement issued late last night.
Wong said this was the first time he flew to KL via MYAirline which departed Sibu Airport at 3.35pm and was scheduled to touch down at 5.10pm. The journey was smooth and the weather was fine.
As a frequent flyer, he demanded answers and explanations from both MYAirline and the aviation control tower as to what caused this sort of abortive landing which could have been fatal to the passengers on board.
“This is the first time in my life that I experienced an abortive (sic) landing because there was another plane still on the runway. Who is in the wrong, MYAirline or the control tower?
“Is it human or technical error or adverse weather conditions or other unknown factors?” he questioned.
Wong also demanded a detailed report on the distance between the plane on the runway and the MYAirline plane approaching to land when the captain decided to abandon the landing.
“Who alerted the pilot? Was it the control tower or the plane’s automatic alert system or the pilot himself saw another plane on the runway?
“How frequently does this similar incident occur in KLIA airport?,” he further asked.
Wong also wants the relevant sector to disclose the measures to be taken to ensure that such incidents would never occur again.
“For the sake of flight safety, the public, especially the passengers, demand an honest reply and explanation from both parties namely MyAirline and the control tower,” he added. — DayakDaily
