On Monday afternoon, a China Airlines flight CI910 suffered a mid-air engine shutdown shortly after taking off from Hong Kong International Airport. The Airbus A321neo declared a Pan-Pan and returned to Hong Kong International Airport without further incidents.
China Airlines CI910 took off from Hong Kong International Airport at 1:14 pm on Monday, 6th of June. After approximately 10mins, the pilots declared a Pan-Pan on Hong Kong Radar and stopped its departure at flight level 210 (21,000ft), stating that their No.2 engine had experienced a shutdown. The Airbus A321neo registered as B-18103 commenced descent after a left-hand turn towards the airport and landed on the southern runway at 2:10 pm without further reported incidents.
CI910 is a daily service from Hong Kong to Taipei’s Tao Yuan International Airport with an average flight time of 1hr 50mins. Air Traffic Control (ATC) recordings are available; the pilots declared the urgency in a rather calm demeanor, and the ATC controller provided efficient assistance for the flight to return. The recording is available below:
The Airbus A321-271NX registered as B-18103 was delivered to China Airlines in February this year after passing its test flights in Hamburg, Germany. As part of the A321 Neo family, it is powered by two Pratt & Whitney PW1133G engines. The Pratt and Whitney engines installed for the Airbus A320neo were reported by IndiGo back in 2019 to have suffered a series of in-flight shutdown during climb out. As a result, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had ordered the airline to replace all its Pratt & Whitney engines with a modified replacement. IndiGo is the largest operator of the Airbus A320neo aircraft, with over 190 A320/321neo in service.
China Airlines spokesman confirmed that a “problem with engine indications” was observed by the pilots and denied defining the reason for the return to be “engine shutdown,” as heard on ATC recordings. The airline also expresses gratitude to Hong Kong International Airport for its assistance. For more aviation news in the Asia region, click here.
