Emirates flight suffers engine fire in Lusaka emergency

Engineers from Emirates and Rolls-Royce have arrived in Lusaka to begin investigations into an engine fire which led to an emergency return to the Zambian capital late on Sunday night.
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The Airbus A330-200 , flight EK714 is believed to have been about 30 minutes into its flight from Lusaka to Dubai when passengers reported hearing a loud bang. The port engine is believed to have suffered a failure. Passengers reported seeing smoke and sparks.

Some passengers also reported seeing holes in the engine casing.

The crew made the decision to return to Lusaka rather than make an emergency landing at an alternative airport. After a normal disembarkation at Lusaka, passengers praised the Emirates crew for the way they handled the emergency.

The aircraft was parked on the apron at Lusaka . There are unsubstantiated reports that there could have been an uncontained blade failure on the Rolls-Royce Trent 700.

A spokesman for Rolls-Royce said: “We are aware of the incident and working with our customer to provide support and technical assistance.”

 

A replacement engine is being flown to Lusaka.

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