JAL jumbo jet engine breaks up in midnight flight

JAL jumbo jet engine breaks up in midnight flight

JAKARTA (JP): A Japan Airlines (JAL) jumbo jet, with 366
passengers and 17 crew aboard, abandoned its midnight flight to
Tokyo on Tuesday after experiencing engine trouble just after
takeoff from Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, a JAL official
at the airline's Jakarta office said on Wednesday.

Hideki Moriyama, the administration manager of the office,
said no one on board was injured and JAL Flight 726 landed safely
at the airport about an hour after it took off at 11:37 p.m.

The four-engined Boeing 747 encountered "engine trouble" in
its number one engine, he told The Jakarta Post.

"After discovering the trouble in the number one engine, the
captain disposed of a necessary amount of fuel and landed the
plane safely at Cengkareng at 12:30 a.m.," Moriyama said.

He said he had no idea of the cause of the incident and that
an investigation was being carried out which included related
parties at the airport.

All of the passengers, Moriyama said, were transferred to the
Jakarta Hilton and Hotel Mulia and were scheduled to leave on
Wednesday night for Narita airport on an extra plane especially
flown in from Tokyo.

"They're scheduled to depart at 10:30 tonight (Wednesday)," he
said.

From Tokyo, AFP quoted a Japanese transport ministry official
as saying that passengers heard "a bang" when the number one
engine on the left wing disintegrated at a height of 1,000 feet.
Some engine parts fell off, the official, who refused to be
named, said.

A reporter from the Post, who traced the trail of the flight's
fallen engine parts, found the debris had damaged at least 16
houses in three villages of Sepatan district of Tangerang
regency, namely Kedaung Barat, Tanah Merah and Jatimulya.

The closest village, Jatimulya, is about three kilometers from
the airport's runways.

Many locals, who were sleeping or going to bed, supported the
statement by the Tokyo ministry official, saying they heard a
thunderous bang from a plane flying low over their houses.

"I was about to go to bed when a disturbing sound of a plane
flying too low followed by the thundering sound of an explosion
shocked me," said Udin, 38, a resident of Jatimulya.

According to Udin and his neighbors, they also witnessed a
"big thing with a flame" falling from the plane.

After it hit the ground, the residents poured water on the
object before handing it over to the local police, they said.

Most of the 16 damaged houses had small cracks in their roofs,
the most serious of was on a house belonging to Buang, 40, of
Jatimulya.

"I was sleeping when suddenly a big machine fell from the roof
of our house onto our bed. My wife fainted," he said.

Moriyama said he was unaware of whether JAL would pay any sort
of compensation to the villagers for the damage.

"We don't know yet. As far as I know, we have not received any
claims. At this time, we are concentrating on accommodating the
passengers," he said.

JAL serves the Denpasar-Jakarta-Tokyo route daily. The extra
flight for the 366 passengers on Wednesday night will not affect
the regular flight, which usually departs at 11:30 p.m.

"Flight 726, from Denpasar (Bali), landed at 10:20 p.m. at the
(Soekarno-Hatta) airport on Tuesday. It is scheduled for takeoff
at 11:30 p.m.," Moriyama explained. (41/bsr)