Hainan Airlines Boeing 787-9 Makes Emergency Landing After Engine Fire
On November 10, 2024, a Hainan Airlines Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner was forced to make an emergency landing at Leonardo da Vinci Rome Fiumicino Airport (FCO) after its right engine caught fire shortly after takeoff.
Flight HU438 had departed from runway 16R at FCO at 10:02 local time, bound for Shenzhen Baoan International Airport (SZX) in China, with 249 passengers and 16 crew members on board. Just minutes after takeoff, several witnesses reported hearing multiple explosions as the right engine ignited, according to Sky TG24.
Approximately 30 minutes into the flight, the aircraft turned back and made an emergency return to FCO. The Coast Guard’s operations room in Rome received a report from a yachtsman near Ostia, who observed the aircraft with one of its engines ablaze. Video footage shared on X, courtesy of Aviación al Día, showed flames clearly visible from the engine.
The Port Authority of Rome speculated that the fire may have been caused by a bird strike. To mitigate the fire risks posed by the aircraft’s fuel, the pilot flew several circles over the Tyrrhenian Sea to dump excess fuel before landing.
Flight data from FlightAware confirmed the aircraft landed safely at FCO at 11:06 local time, approximately one hour after takeoff.
Hainan Airlines and airport officials assured that all safety procedures were followed and confirmed no injuries were reported. The flight to Shenzhen was canceled while the airline addressed the technical issue.
Local media reported that the incident caused a brief disruption to operations at FCO but did not affect later flights. The aircraft will undergo thorough technical inspections to determine the cause of the engine failure and address the issue.
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