A Trigana Air Boeing 737-500 aircraft operating flight IL-273 from Jayapura to Wamena experienced an engine fire on Tuesday, November 5, 2024, prompting an emergency evacuation and minor injuries to four passengers, according to reports from The Aviation Herald and Antara Indonesian News Agency.
The incident occurred at Sentani International Airport in Jayapura at approximately 11:21 a.m. local time as the aircraft, registration PK-YSC, was starting its engines after pushback. Thick smoke and flames were observed emanating from the right engine, causing panic among the 121 passengers and eight crew members on board. Passengers evacuated the aircraft using the left-hand forward and wing emergency exits.
Four passengers sustained minor injuries during the evacuation and received medical attention at the airport’s health and quarantine facility, according to Surya Eka, Sentani Airport’s stakeholder relations department head, as quoted by Antara. No fatalities were reported.
Trigana Air arranged for a replacement aircraft, a Boeing 737-300 registered PK-YRA, which transported the passengers to Wamena as flight IL-275, arriving approximately 2.5 hours behind schedule, per The Aviation Herald.
Indonesia’s Ministry of Transport confirmed the incident and stated that the National Transportation Safety Committee (KNKT) is investigating the cause of the engine fire. Airport operations returned to normal shortly after the incident, according to Antara.
Trigana Air’s area manager for Papua, Irwan Rohendi, told Antara that some passengers were flown to Wamena on Tuesday afternoon, with the remaining passengers scheduled to fly on Wednesday. Rohendi confirmed that the injuries resulted from passengers rushing to exit the aircraft.
The aircraft involved was a 32.6-year-old Boeing 737-500 (MSN 26421) leased from Aero North International.
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