On May twenty sixth, a Boeing 777-200ER operated by KLM was about halfway through its flight from Bangkok to Amsterdam when it experienced an engine failure. Leading to a shutdown, the aircraft diverted to Dubai where it has remained for a couple of day.
Incident details
Data from FlightRadar24.com shows that on Friday, May twenty sixth, KLM flight KL876 departed Bangkok at 12:10 local time. Onboard were 286 passengers and 12 crew. The Boeing 777-200ER was passing through Iranian airspace when an engine failure arose, resulting in a shutdown. In response to The Aviation Herald, the jet was positioned about 540 NM (1,000 km) northeast of Dubai. Thus, the crew made the choice to divert to the UAE city slightly than a facility inside Iran.
Photo: FlightRadar24.com
The aircraft, registered PH-BQL, descended from an altitude of FL340 to FL200 enroute to Dubai International Airport. There, it landed without further incident, some 105 minutes after initiating the diversion.
The Boeing 777-200ER stays in Dubai
On the time of publication, the nearly 17-and-a-half year-old 777-200ER stays on the bottom at Dubai. Being a big airport and the house of Emirates with its maintenance division ‘Emirates Engineering,’ the aircraft must have all of the crucial resources to be restored to operational condition. After all, the severity of the difficulty and the provision of specific parts will determine how long the jet stays within the UAE.
Photo: FlightRadar24.com
To reply this query, we only need to take a look at Norwegian’s 737 diversion incident at the tip of 2018 to learn why an emergency landing in Iran ought to be avoided, if possible. The 737 MAX, meaning to fly from Dubai to Oslo, needed to divert to Shiraz in Iran. The aircraft was stranded there for 2 months. The explanation for the prolonged grounding is that Iran was (and continues to be) subject to US and other Western sanctions. Thus, the export of any sensitive technology, corresponding to aircraft engines, is strictly prohibited. Moreover, Iranian regulations on importing aircraft engines would have added further complexity. Making things worse on the time was the undeniable fact that the US suffered a government shutdown during discussions on waiving sanctions – that is something that would thoroughly have happened again because the US government currently moves closer to its debt ceiling again. Long story short: A diversion to Iran can add layers of political, bureaucratic, and diplomatic complexity that airlines could be blissful to avoid.
What do you’re thinking that of this incident? Share your thoughts by leaving a comment!
Sources: Planespotters.net, FlightRadar24.com, ch-aviation.com, The Aviation Herald