Passenger shares details of ‘unforeseen circumstances’ which led to MH128 emergency landing in Alice Springs

Long delays and time lost on holidays. Hear from passengers who were on the plane that made an emergency landing in Alice Springs.

Malaysian Airlines flight MH128 at Alice Springs Airport Wednesday, August 21, 2024. PIcture: Gera Kazakov

A passenger on a plane which made an emergency landing in the Red Centre has detailed the two hours they spent in the air waiting to land – as another plane from the same airline was forced to turn around hours after taking off.

Malaysia Airlines flight MH128 from Melbourne to Kuala Lumpur made an emergency landing at 4.35am in Alice Springs Airport on August 20, while Wednesday morning Malaysia Airlines flight MH386 from Kuala Lumpur to Shanghai also made an emergency landing.

Passenger Yolande Pickett, who was on the flight with her husband, said the before the plane landed they spent two hours in the air “burning off fuel”, according to the pilot.

“The pilot announced that the engines had been making a bit of noise, and so they had stalled that engine to stop using it completely,” she said.

“We were running on the one engine.”

Mrs Pickett said they were originally going to land in 11 minutes, but the plane was too heavy, the pilot told passengers.

“So they were going to circle for two hours to burn off fuel,” she said.

“So two hours to let your imagination run wild.”

Malaysia Airlines flight MH128 after the emergency landing in Alice Springs airport Tuesday, August 20, 2024. Picture: Yolande Pickett

Airport Development Group’s executive general manager Rob Porter said the emergency landing was due to “engine issues” and all passengers on board were safe.

Mrs Pickett said once they landed, the airport was shut, but helpful staff soon arrived.

But she’s now lost two days of her Sri Lankan holiday, she said.

Another MH128 passenger, Siti Norainun Mohd Sabri, told social media she’d had radio silence from the airline for 12 hours since landing in the Red Centre.

“I’m travelling with my 2 year old and he’s unwell,” she said.

“The remaining meds are in our luggage which weren’t brought down with us in Alice Springs.”

It’s not the first time a Malaysia Airlines flight made an emergency landing in Alice Springs.

In 2018, a Sydney to Kuala Lumpur flight turned back to Alice Springs when it was over Derby, Western Australia, after an engine failure.

Meanwhile, Malaysia Airlines flight MH386 also made an emergency landing on Wednesday, August 21.

According flight tracker Fligthradar24, the Airbus A330-323 was in the air for five hours before turning around.

Questions were sent to Malaysia Airlines about MH386’s emergency landing, when MH128 will be airborne again, and if both planes had the same issues.

The NT News did not receive a response.