An Indonesian national airline’s passenger plane was forced to make an emergency landing after one of its engines caught fire shortly after takeoff. The Garuda Indonesia flight, carrying 468 passengers from Makassar to Madinah, Saudi Arabia, was en route when the incident occurred on Wednesday. According to Garuda Indonesia, the Boeing 747-400 returned to Makassar airport immediately after flames were seen coming from one of its engines.
All 450 passengers, including those traveling for the Hajj pilgrimage, and 18 crew members were safely evacuated without any injuries. Videos shared by the plane crash data evaluation firm JACDEC on social media showed the engine ablaze just after takeoff. The aircraft was grounded for an investigation into the incident, while passengers were provided accommodation before boarding a replacement flight later that day.
This incident marks the latest in a series of challenges for Indonesian airlines. In 2016, the US lifted a ban on Indonesian airlines, followed by the EU in 2018. However, Indonesia has recorded 106 civilian airline accidents since 1945, resulting in 2,305 fatalities. Earlier this year, two Batik Air pilots allegedly fell asleep mid-flight for 28 minutes, causing the flight to veer off course. In 2021, a Sriwijaya Air flight crashed into the Java Sea after taking off from Soekarno-Hatta Airport, killing all 62 passengers and crew members on board.
