A Malaysia Airlines flight from Melbourne to Kuala Lumpur faced a technical issue and was diverted to Alice Springs Airport (ASP), which is located in the interior of the Australian continent.

Flight MH128 departed Melbourne at about 11:20pm (Australia time) on Tuesday for Malaysia's capital, Kuala Lumpur.

Malaysia Airlines said flight MH128 safely landed at 4.35am (Australia time) on Aug. 19, about 1,800km from its departure point.

Engine reportedly "stalled"

Australian media SBS News reported that a passenger of the Airbus A330-300 aircraft said “a low vibration” was felt before the captain announced that the engine “had stalled” and they would need to circle for two hours to burn fuel before landing at the airport.

The sound subsided as the "right side engine became noticeably quiet", the passenger said.

The passenger said a fire truck met the plane when it landed without issue, with passengers staying on board until about 6:15am, SBS News reported.

Malaysia Airlines and the Airport Development Group, which manages Alice Springs Airport, confirmed the plane had diverted there but did not say one of the plane's engines had stalled.

Malaysia Airlines said it had suffered a "technical issue", while the Airport Development Group said it had made an "emergency landing" due to "engine issues", according to SBS News.

A passenger claimed on Facebook that he saw the aircraft’s engine on fire, The Star reported.

In the post, he said that another passenger called the flight attendant to report the situation before the captain made the announcement.

The airline said on Aug. 20 that it is re-booking passengers on new flights and arranging accommodation and reimbursements for meal expenses.

Previous recent incidents

Malaysia Airlines flight MH156, which was en route to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on Aug. 4, turned back to Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) Terminal 1.

In June 2024, flight MH199 from Hyderabad, India to Kuala Lumpur was forced to return to the Indian airport due to an issue with one of the aircraft’s engines while climbing after taking off.

Top photo via Malaysia Airlines