Chinese flight makes emergency landing after 'aircraft malfunction'

A Chinese domestic flight made an emergency landing on Friday after experiencing an “aircraft malfunction”, with passengers reporting loud noises and a foul smell in the plane.

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A Shandong Airlines flight from Qingdao to Shanghai experienced an “aircraft malfunction” and the crew diverted to an airport in Nanjing after handling the situation in accordance with procedures to ensure passenger safety, the airline said in a social media post.

Flight SC4667 was forced to make an emergency landing in Nanjing, it said.

“All affected passengers have been properly accommodated, and another aircraft has been dispatched to operate subsequent flights,” the post said.

A user claiming to have been on board the flight said in a social media post that something appeared to have been sucked into the aircraft's left engine while it was cruising, Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reported on Saturday.

“Terrifying,” the user wrote. “There were a few loud bangs, then the plane started shaking side to side by about 10 degrees, with a burnt smell that lasted for five to 10 minutes.” The captain then announced the emergency landing in Nanjing, and the entire process was “very smooth,” the user said, adding: “Thumbs up to the Shandong Airlines pilots,” the post said.