Etihad flight forced to turn back to Abu Dhabi International Airport after 'technical issue' with engine

The EY 474 flight was en route to Jakarta when the incident occurred on Wednesday

An Etihad aircraft is shown in the air over Beirut, Lebanon. AFP

An Etihad plane en route to Jakarta was forced to turn back after suffering a technical problem, with one passenger claiming to have heard an “explosion” in one of the engines.

EY 474 departed from Abu Dhabi three minutes early, at 2.57am on Wednesday, according to FlightView data, but shortly after take-off one of the engines developed a problem.

A passenger tweeted the Etihad Help account to say “around one min after take-off I heard an explosion from the right engine, and the aircraft was unstable for few seconds. The pilot manage to land the aircraft safely back to Abu Dhabi airport, and now we are waiting for an explanation”.

Etihad replied to the passenger to say the plane retuned to Abu Dhabi Airport shortly after take-off due to a “technical issue” with one of the engines.

“The aircraft landed safely and passengers disembarked and are now in the terminal building,” tweeted Etihad Help in reply.

An Etihad representative said the plane was towed and a replacement flight was provided.

“Etihad Airways flight EY474, from Abu Dhabi to Jakarta, returned to Abu Dhabi Airport shortly after take-off due to a technical issue with one of its engines,” said the representative.

"The aircraft landed safely and passengers disembarked. A replacement aircraft was provided and the flight departed at 7.30am. Etihad Airways apologises for the delay and inconvenience to passengers. Safety is the airline's number one priority."

Etihad operates double daily flights to Jakarta. The affected aircraft was an A330.

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