MADINAH: No one was hurt when a Saudi Airlines plane with 121 passengers onboard had to make an emergency landing at Prince Muhammad International Airport in Madinah following failure of one of its engines on Thursday evening, Al-Madinah newspaper reported yesterday.
The pilot of the Madinah-bound Airbus, coming from Damascus carrying Saudi and Syrian passengers, reported to the air traffic control tower that he was unable to land the plane due to problems in one of the engines.
Director of Prince Muhammad Airport Abdul Al-Fatah Ata said, “The control tower received an emergency call from the pilot that he was unable to land the plane because one of the engines had developed some problems. Subsequently, all preparations were made to cope with any emergency and firefighting units and medical teams were placed on alert.”
Al-Fatah added that after several attempts to land, the plane finally touched the ground without any accident and all the passengers and crew members were safe.
The pilot had to fly above the airport for about two hours to exhaust the fuel. Planes offload fuel in cases of emergency, according to the airport director.
Thousands of pilgrims and visitors arrive at the Madinah airport daily everyday in addition to other passengers.
