Rex crew praised for emergency landing after plane engine catches fire

Wagga Wagga, Australia - November 27, 2008: Rex Regional express airline, a SAAB 340 at country NSW, parked and resting couple of hours before passengers boarding, with rain in the background.

The crew onboard a Regional Express (Rex) aircraft has been praised for landing safely after one of the plane’s engines caught fire mid-flight.

Rex flight ZL139 was forced to make an emergency landing on Thursday, after one of the passenger plane’s engines caught fire during transit from Sydney to Merimbula. This forced pilots to land the plane, a Saab 340 twin propeller aircraft, with one engine.

A Rex spokesperson told Travel Weekly that flight ZL139 experienced a “cockpit indication associated with the aircraft’s right engine” while flying to Merimbula.

“In accordance with company standard operating procedures, the pilots carried out the prescribed procedures and landed safely and without further incident at Merimbula airport at 8:42pm,” the spokesperson said.

One passenger shared her experience on social media, as reported by news.com.au: 

“I hav (sic) just had the most terrifying experience of my life from home from Sydney on REX ZL139,” Vicky Hodges, a reported passenger, wrote. “Engine blew up just out of Moruya so flew 40 minutes on 1 engine.

“The wonderful pilots got us home safely,” she said.

Flight radar data by flighatware.com.au showed the plane circled multiple times over the ocean before landing safely at Merimbula where it was met by firefighters.

In a statement obtained by news.com.au, Fire and Rescue NSW said that emergency services were “told prior to the plane landing” that it “had an engine fire which had been extinguished by the pilots”.

“The plane landed safely and landed as normal. None of the passengers or crew were injured,” the statement read.

The incident comes after Rex recently cleared its name over allegations of poor safety practices.

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