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Kahon Chan

Note: This story has been updated to reflect a change of wording. Cathay Pacific says the take-off was not aborted, but “rejected”.
A Hong Kong-bound Cathay Pacific Airways flight failed to take-off on the runway at Kaohsiung airport in Taiwan after flames were seen bursting out from one of its engines.
Cathay Pacific flight 431, scheduled to depart after 11am on Saturday, was forced to return to the terminal after the failed take-off attempt, according to tracker website Flightradar24.
In a video posted on Facebook, flames and smoke were seen coming out from the right engine of the Airbus A330-300 just seconds after the plane was about to take-off on the runway.
The twinjet veered to the right initially before the course was corrected and came to a halt halfway down the runway.
Passengers on the plane reportedly heard a loud bang before the plane came to a full stop on the runway.
More than 200 passengers were believed to be on board. No injuries have been reported.
Taiwan-based media said Cathay had deployed a larger Boeing 777-300 for an evening flight to pick up the stranded passengers, some of whom were also transferred to planes operated by other carriers.
A Cathay spokesman said the flight “rejected take-off due to an engine technical problem”, adding no passengers or crew were injured in the incident.
Affected passengers were transferred to another plane on the same day and meal vouchers were provided to them while they waited for a replacement flight, he said.
“The safety of our customers and crew guides every decision we make. We sincerely apologise to our affected customers for the inconvenience caused and appreciate their understanding,” the spokesman said.


Warren Chim Wing-nin, the deputy chairman of the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers’ aircraft division, said there could have been a sudden surge of power in the engine.
He said that usually a loud noise and flames, accompanied by fluctuating engine parameters being seen in the cockpit, indicated the occurrence of such a situation.
The aircraft’s engines would also appear to have large holes, which were in fact thrust reverser doors that had opened during the failed takeoff to help the plane come to a faster stop, he added.
Chim said investigating the actual cause of the incident would require inspection and data from the flight data recorder.
Engineers would also need to carry out visual checks of the front and rear of the engine, as well as a boroscopic inspection of the core engine blades, to find the cause of the failure.
“If metallic debris found at the engine tail pipe or blades are found damaged, the engine has to be replaced,” he said.
Additional reporting by Cannix Yau and Lo Hoi-ying


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Transport

Flames were seen bursting out from one of its engines as the plane was about to take off


Flames were seen bursting out from one of its engines as the plane was about to take off.
