Malaysia’s Subang Airport runway reopens following helicopter fire

The runway at Malaysia’s Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport in Subang has reopened after it was temporarily closed following a helicopter fire on Aug 15.

The Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM) had earlier said in a statement that the runway was closed after a Kamov Ka-32S helicopter was involved in a fire incident there that day, Malaysian news outlet The Star reported.

The incident occurred at about 12.30pm while the Ukraine-registered helicopter was undergoing an engine ground run as part of maintenance activities, CAAM said.

Four Ukrainian men, comprising the pilot, co-pilot and two crew members were conducting the maintenance, Malaysian news outlet Bernama reported, adding that one of them sustained minor injuries from flying debris.

The runway was reopened for air traffic at 2.57pm, said CAAM chief executive Norazman Mahmud, as quoted by Bernama. He advised passengers to check with their respective airlines for the latest updates on their flights.

During the runway closure, eight inbound flights were diverted, while three departing flights had to be delayed, said Mahmud.

A Scoot flight bound for Singapore was among the flights that were delayed.

Singapore-bound Scoot flight TR475 was retimed and departed Subang Airport at 4.20pm, a Scoot spokesperson said in response to ST’s queries. TR475 was originally set to depart for Changi Airport at about 2pm.

In addition, some of the affected flights included those departing from Singapore.

Checks by The Straits Times on flight tracking site FlightAware showed that Scoot flight TR474, which was scheduled to depart Singapore at about noon, was diverted to Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA).

Flight TR474 landed uneventfully at 1.38pm in Kuala Lumpur, and passengers disembarked there, the Scoot spokesperson said.

The spokesperson apologised for the inconvenience caused, and said: “The safety of our customers and crew is our top priority, and we will continue to provide the necessary assistance to affected customers, where possible.”

Another Subang-bound flight from Singapore that was diverted was Firefly flight FY3127, which was scheduled to depart Seletar Airport at about 11.20am. It was diverted to Malaysia’s Langkawi airport, before it took off for Subang Airport at about 3.30pm, data from FlightAware showed.

Firefly is a subsidiary of Malaysia Aviation Group (MAG). ST has contacted MAG for comment.

The CAAM said that the incident will be investigated by the Air Accident Investigation Bureau of the Transport Ministry in accordance with Part XXVI of the Civil Aviation Regulations 2016, The Star reported.