REGIONAL Express says its engineers are working to determine whether a sensor malfunction is responsible for Friday’s emergency landing at the Mount Gambier Airport.
Flight ZL4612 – en route to Adelaide – was returned to the Mount Gambier airfield as a “precautionary measure” after a cockpit indication activated 17 minutes into the journey.
The aircraft – carrying 16 passengers and three crew members – landed without incident at around 8am with a fleet of emergency vehicles waiting at the airfield.
While the matter was reported to the Australian Transport Safety Bureau, the safety regulator revealed yesterday it was not investigating the incident.
Phillip Moir – who was a passenger on-board the early morning flight – described the incident as frightening.
“We were on our way to Adelaide and then they came up with an announcement they had an engine issue and that we would have to return to Mount Gambier,” Mr Moir told The Border Watch.
“They told us full emergency services would be on standby and to stay calm.”
While the message was to stay calm, Mr Moir said he naturally started to think the worst.
“You start thinking about your family and things like that and just start to wonder what will happen,” he said.
“The flight crew were fantastic. The young air hostess was very calm and then the captain came on towards the end and told us what was going to happen, which was very reassuring.”
While the landing was probably a little more anxious than most landings, Mr Moir said the plane appeared fine and it did not feel any different.
“It was an interesting way to start the day, but it’s great that everyone’s safe,” he said.
Limestone Coast Police officer in charge Superintendent Grant Moyle said nobody was injured in the incident.
“Emergency services responded as per usual and it is an incident we train for throughout the year, so it was nothing unusual for us,” Supt Moyle said.
“Now it is a matter for Rex … we had our standard de-brief after the incident in regards to our response and that went as planned.”
The Metropolitan Fire Service, Country Fire Service, State Emergency Service and ambulance crews were on standby for the landing.
In a statement released yesterday, a Rex spokesperson said the incident had been reported to the regulator.
“Our engineers are working to determine whether there was as sensor malfunction,” a spokesperson said.
“Rex Network Operations has accommodated all disrupted passengers on alternative services.”
