SEPANG (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - A Malaysian passenger is happy to be alive after Malaysia Airlines flight MH192 was forced to make an emergency landing at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport early Monday.
"When the plane was about to take off, we could hear three loud bangs. The plane was shaking, especially rows 19 to 23 on the D, E and F side," said the passenger who wanted to be known as Raymond.
"Oxygen masks dropped but people did not panic. There was a lot of praying but people were calm," he said when asked about the situation in the aircraft that hovered for about three hours above KLIA.
Raymond said the pilot did a good job by keeping everyone up to date with the situation.
"There wasn't as much information as I would like but we were kept updated," he said.
Malaysian IT strategy analyst Eugene Chin, who was heading to Bangalore for training, was asleep when one of the tyres of the plane burst during take off.
"When I woke up an hour later, I noticed that we were still hovering near Malaysia. I then overheard that something was wrong with the landing gear of the plane and that there was a possibility of an emergency landing," said the 24-year-old.
He said the plane went through a bumpy take off and he felt as if the plane had hit something.
"We received constant updates. The captain did a good job and was very thorough with safety procedures," he said. "The captain reassured us multiple times so that we know what was happening."
Earlier, MAS had issued a statement that flight MH192 that departed from KLIA at 10.09pm on Sunday bound for Bangalore had to make an air turn back.
Flight MH192 was scheduled to arrive in Bangalore in India at 11.35pm the same day.
The aircraft, which right-land landing gear malfunctioned upon take off, landed safely at KLIA about 1.56am.
Acting Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein heaved a sigh of relief on Twitter following the good news.
"All passengers safe alhamdullilah - nevertheless - i am getting ready 2 go there personally !!!" wrote the minister, who had been living under intense media glare following the baffling disappearance of Beijing-bound flight MH370 on March 8, along with its 239 passengers and crew members.
The beleaguered Malaysia Airlines had reported several missteps since the MH370 saga.
On March 23, its Kathmandu-bound flight had to be grounded for repair after the plane was hit by a flock of birds.
Two days later its Inchon-bound flight MH066 had to divert its course and landed at the Hong Kong International Airport after the plane's generator failed.
On March 28, a fire broke out at the airlines' avionics workshop in Subang.
Sunday's MH192 was carrying a total number of 166 people on board which include 159 passengers and seven crew members.
The flight has been re-timed to depart KLIA at 3.30pm on Monday and arrive in Bangalore at 5.00pm the same day.
All passengers are being accommodated at nearby hotels.
