Smoke-filled cabin forces Firefly flight to return to Subang
By Kalbana PerimbanayagamOctober 3, 2024 @ 11:58am
Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM) Aircraft confirmed a Firefly aircraft with registration 9M-FYG experienced defects that required a turn back to the Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport. Screengrab from Harrell Erik Wong Facebook
KUALA LUMPUR: A Firefly flight en route to Penang was forced to return to the Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah (SAAS) Airport in Subang when the cabin filled with smoke.
The Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM) confirmed that the aircraft – registration 9M-FYG – experienced in-flight issues that necessitated the turn back.
CAAM chief executive officer, Datuk Captain Norazman Mahmud, when contacted, said that based on the preliminary report, the flight experienced an "extraction fan failure" upon take-off.
"According to the pilot report (PIREP), the fan failure caused the air-conditioning system in the aircraft to overheat, which then caused smoke to fill the cabin."
No one was injured in the incident, and passengers were safely evacuated to the SAAS airport terminal.
A video of the smoke-filled cabin was recorded by one of the passengers, Harrell Erik Wong. He posted about the flight turning back just after 15 minutes in the air.
