Aircraft

Flight International online news 09:00 GMT: Australian authorities are investigating a 1 August incident in which a Malaysia Airlines (MAS) Boeing 777-200ER had to make an emergency landing at Perth after cockpit crew reported a flight management system (FMS) malfunction.

Australia’s Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) in Canberra said it is unclear if the malfunction was momentary and the flight crew decided to come back to Perth anyway or if the problem persisted and the flight crew were able to somehow work around the problem.

It said passengers on board the aircraft reported the aircraft suddenly experienced a temporary loss of altitude and “it was rolling from side to side”.

MAS said the malfunction happened at 16:47hr local time on 1 August and that the flight crew “immediately requested for priority landing and the flight with 177 passengers landed safely at 17:38hr”. The malfunction happened about 40mins after takeoff from Perth, said CASA.

MAS declined to comment about Australian media reports that at least one cabin crew member fell over as a result of the aircraft’s sudden loss of altitude. It only said no one onboard the aircraft was hurt or injured.

It said the passengers on board the aircraft were offered accommodation in Perth for the night and then transferred to alternative MAS flights.

Perth Airport said the MAS 777-200ER involved in the incident is still at the airport but is due to leave sometime later today.