The Airbus A320 performing flight TR2934 lands in Haikou on Thursday, June 11, 2015. (Photo from verified Weibo account of China Central Television)
(ECNS) -- Malfunction caused a plane to abort its first three landing attempts in Haikou on Thursday, scaring passengers, who applauded when they finally made it safely to ground on the fourth try.
The Airbus A320, registration 9V-TAP performing flight TR2934, was flying on Thursday from Singapore to Haikou, Hainan province in south China. It was carrying 178 people, including staff and passengers. The majority were tourists returning from a six-day trip to Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand.
Things initially ran smoothly following boarding at 7:20 a.m.. However, suspicious noises began to appear at around 10:20 a.m., with staff announcing the airplane was experiencing malfunction. On arriving in Haikou, the Tigerair plane circled above the airport before failing its first three landing attempts. Though the atmosphere was tense among passengers, the crew successfully achieved a safe landing the fourth time around, earning applause.
"About 40 minutes before landing, it was announced the airplane might have problems," said a female traveler. "Passengers were asked to buckle up and get rid of sharp items. It was indeed scary then. The plane tried three emergency landings but could not get down. It only succeeded on the fourth attempt. Most passengers were crying."
The airplane safely landed at 11:04 a.m., 24 minutes later than schedule, according to Meilan airport officials in Haikou. The airport deployed emergency rescue units at 9:52 a.m. in case of an unexpected incident. The general operation of the airport was not affected.
One of the plane's tires was damaged. TR2934 cancelled its 11:30 a.m. trip from Haikou to Singapore to have the tire replaced.
