Engine on fire before take-off, no injuries

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-05-21 20:11

URUMQI -- An engine caught fire as a passenger plane was about to take off Thursday morning in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, forcing passengers to evacuate, an airport official said.

The flight had been headed from Korla, in south Xinjiang, to the regional capital of Urumqi. The official, who asked not to be identified, said there were no injuries among the 40-some passengers.

The official said that as the pilot was starting the engines at 10:25 a.m., there was a loud bang and black smoke belched from the left engine of the ERJ aircraft, owned by Tianjin-based Grand China Express of Hainan Airlines Group.

The crew shut down the engines after ground personnel warned them of a possible engine fire and the doors were opened to evacuate the passengers. Experts later confirmed the inner cowl of the engine was ablaze, but there was no open flame after the engines were shut down. Fire fighters stayed at the scene until midday before getting the all-clear to go.

All passengers were transferred to another aircraft destined for Urumqi.

Xinjiang is the largest region by landmass in China, and travel by air is the most common means of getting around. Korla, capital of Bayinggolin Mongol Autonomous Prefecture, is 470 km from Urumqi.

The ERJ145 aircraft is a new-generation of turbo fan regional jet with 50 passenger seats. It is manufactured by China's Harbin Embraer, a Sino-Brazilian joint venture among Empresa Brasileira de Aeronautica SA (Embraer), Harbin Aircraft Industry Group Co., Ltd. and Hafei Aviation Industry Co. Ltd. More than 1,000 have been sold globally, mostly in the United States and Europe.