On November 23rd, an Aerostan Boeing 747-200 had an incident while departing from Macau International Airport en route to Manas International Airport in Kyrgyzstan. The aircraft was climbing out of Macau’s runway 16 when engine #2 began emitting bangs and a streak of flames.
What happened to Aerostan flight KW-4053?
Aerostan’s Boeing 747-200, registration EX-47001, was performing flight KW-4053 between Macau (China) and Bishkek (Kyrgyzstan) when an engine failure caused a sudden climb. Eventually the crew stopped the climb at 10,000 feet and immediately turned around to return to Macau’s runway 16 for an emergency landing. The second engine, a Pratt & Whitney JT9D inboard left hand, began emitting bangs and streaks of flames.
After debating what to do, the crew decided that landing at Hong Kong International Airport was their best bet, despite being within 34 miles of Macau.
All of a sudden, the engine caught fire while the plane was on the runway. The captain shut everything down, positioned the aircraft in a safe manner and requested to land at Macau International Airport. The airport responded by activating its Emergency Operations Centre at 13:46 to prepare for contingencies related to the emergency landing (such as deactivating runways and taxiways).
The plane arrived safely at the airport and taxied in at 13:59. Firefighting crews put off an engine fire when requested by the captain, and the aircraft was then towed to the apron. There were no injuries to the flight crew. The airport resumed normal operations after assessing that everything was good.
After the incident, the aircraft was assessed using traditional, routine procedures. Once fully inspected, it was allowed to continue service on a regular flight with three operational engines. The 747 departed Macau for Bishkek on November 24.
Aerostan’s fleet and aircraft were involved in the incident
Aerostan is a cargo airline with its main base in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. In total, Aerostan has four planes at their disposal. Two of these planes are currently active and the other two are not.
A plane made its inaugural flight to the US on Monday after being purchased by Air Speed Charter. The 35-year-old Queen of the Skies was first ordered in 1985 by United Airlines, which took delivery of it in 1987.
The jumbo jet, which was the largest commercial passenger aircraft in history, made its first commercial flight on 24 May 1967. It saw five operators throughout its history, eventually landing with Delta Airlines in 2008 when it became a cargo-only plane. After still being used as a freighter for years, it was put into service again in 2019 and is now owned by Aerostan.
EX-47001 is a passenger aircraft. Over the past six years, it has accrued 74,123 flight hours and 9,755 flight cycles with an average daily utilization of nine hours.