An official with the Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) says that the pilot of a Uni Air flight that made an emergency landing in Taipei on Friday was following standard operating procedures.
Head of the CAA’s flight standards division, Lin Chun-liang, said Friday that the pilot’s decision to shut down an overheating engine, issue a distress call and make an emergency landing were all in line with civil aviation standards.
Uni Air’s Friday morning flight from Taipei to the outlying island of Kinmen was being operated on an MD-90 to accommodate higher passenger volume on the first day of the Dragon Boat Festival holiday.
The pilot made a Mayday call shortly after takeoff from Taipei’s Songshan Airport at 7:03 AM, local time after discovering that the aircraft’s right engine was overheated. The pilot then turned back to Songshan Airport, landing the plane safely at 7:29.
The preliminary investigation found metal shavings in the overheated engine’s tailpipe. The airplane had passed an inspection on June 10. The CAA has grounded the aircraft until the engines are replaced. Meanwhile, the flight was reassigned to an Airbus A321, which landed safely in Kinmen shortly before noon.