Lion Air Plane's Engine Caught Fire Mid-Air, All Passengers Survived

Liputan6.com, Jakarta - Lion Air plane's engine caught fire mid-air just moments after taking off. The Lion Air JT330 airplane was flying from Tangerang to Palembang in South Sumatera Province. 

The problem occured around a minute after after taking off from Soekarno Hatta International Airport in Tangerang on Wednesday evening at 17.13. The explosion occurred on the left engine.

Flightradar24 website shows the airplane was diverted back to Tangerang which is located near the capital Jakarta. Lion Air used Boeing 737-8GP for the flight.

The pilot managed to land the airplane safely. All passengers survived. 

According to the official statement from Lion Air, there was a notification of engine problem at 17.14, and the airplane requested to land.

"At the altitude of 3,000 feet, the pilot felt the operation of one of the airplane's components was not working as it should be and showing the necessity for immediate checking," said Danang Mandala Prihantoro, Corporate Communications Strategic of Lion Air, Wednesday (26/10/2022).

The airplane landed at the Soekarno Hatta Airport around 30 minutes after initial take off.

The official Twitter of Lion Air Group @lionairgroup did not immediately tweet any response after the airplane incident. The account does not give regular updates.

The spokesman of the Metropolitan Police in Jakarta also confirmed the incident, and the Lion Air plane had a problem on the left engine on its way to Palembang.

"The airplane with destination to Palembang was taking off at 17.13 Western Indonesia Time, (the plane) experienced technical problems and returned to base in Soetta Airport," said Endra Zulpan, the head spokesman of the Metropolitan Police.

Furthermore, the passengers were transferred to another plane as a replacement. 

"After the passengers were on transit, and when the replacement plane was ready, they already took off again at 19.40 Western Indonesia Time," said Endra Zulpan.

Pramita Tristiawati contributed to this article.