Sabotage probe after ANOTHER Malaysian Airlines flight is forced to make emergency landing after landing gear malfunctions

Plane suffered landing gear malfunction after taking off in Kuala Lumpur



Flight MH192 was travelling to Bangalore in India - a 90 minute journey



But passengers were left in the air for four hours until landing at 2am

Now police confirm they are investigating possible 'elements of sabotage'



Malaysia's Special Branch will probe potential 'interference' on runway

Incident comes two months after the mysterious disappearance of MH370

Plane vanished after take off in Kuala Lumpur and has still not been found







With questions still unanswered whether missing MH370 was sabotaged, Special Branch police in Kuala Lumpur today began a sabotage inquiry into a drama involving another Malaysian Airlines jet.

Police Chief Halid Abu Bakar confirmed that an investigation had begun into whether flight MH192, which had to turn back to Kuala Lumpur while flying to India, had been interfered with before take off.

The Boeing 737-800 aircraft, with 166 people on board, landed safely in Kuala Lumpur after a tyre burst and the right hand landing gear malfunctioned.

Fears: Police have confirmed they are investigating whether flight MH192, which had to turn back to Kuala Lumpur while flying to India, was interfered with before take off

Relief: After the incident Malaysia's Acting Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein posted this picture on Twitter as he met the passengers off the plane, adding: 'Their faces says it all (sic)... Thank God they are safe'

Safe: Passengers of flight MH192 were relieved to step off the aircraft after an emergency landing

As passengers praised the pilot for the safe landing, Acting Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein demanded that the police begin an investigation into the incident.

Inspector General of Police Mr Bakar then announced that a thorough investigation would be carried out to establish if there were 'elements of sabotage' involved in the emergency.

Mr Hishammuddin, who has been a central figure in the investigation into the disappearance of MH730, has given Malaysian Airlines just two days to furnish the Malaysian cabinet with a preliminary report into the incident.

After the incident he posted a picture on Twitter as he met the passengers off the plane and reflected: 'Their faces says it all (sic)... Thank God they are safe'.

The aircraft had to conduct a turn-around during a routine 90-minute flight to Bangalore and make an emergency landing back at Kuala Lumpur airport three hours after take-off.



The Minister said the airline did not have a reason to be unable to provide an early report into the incident.

Route: Flight MH192 suffered a serious landing gear malfunction shortly after taking off in Kuala Lumpur on a routine 90 minute journey to Bangalore in India

Malaysian Minister of Transportation Hishammuddin Hussein (2nd L) talks with passengers after the flight suffered a landing gear malfunction

Problems: The Boeing 737 was forced to make the emergency landing after reporting a landing gear failure shortly after take-off

The Department of Civil Aviation has also been asked to provide cabinet with a report as soon as possible, said the Minister.

'Such incidents should not have happened,' said Mr Hishammuddin, despite the aircraft, piloted by Captain Nor Adam Azmi Abdul Razak and co-pilot Prakash Kumar, landing safely.

'This is why I have asked the DCA and the police Special Branch to conduct a review on the national carrier's standard operating procedures concerning their flights.'

Despite his apparent deep concerns, he praised the pilots and cabin crew for showing 'outstanding leadership' in handling the ordeal.

'I am very proud of the pilots and crew members who kept the passengers informed and calm until the aircraft landed without incident,' he said.

Mr Hishammuddin Hussein answers questions after the Malaysia Airlines scare

Passengers on the flight also praised the pilot for doing a 'good job' in landing the plane safely. Several said they knew there was something wrong with the plane after a bumpy take-off

But the Minister said he did not discount the possibility of sabotage following incidents that have struck the national carrier in recent weeks.

He was referring to two emergency landings of other Malaysian Airlines planes - one in Hong Kong and the other in Kathmandu - and the prevailing mystery of MH370.

Passengers on the flight also praised the pilot for doing a 'good job' in landing the plane safely.

Several said they knew there was something wrong with the plane after a particularly bumpy take-off, although the cabin crew were able to keep everybody calm.

Marta Alonso, a Spanish citizen travelling to Bangalore to star a new hob as a telecommunications engineer, said she knew something was not right as soon as the plane took off.

'It was bumpy and shaky. Not long after that the pilot announced we needed to make an emergency landing. It was frightening,' she said.



Australian national Maslahuddin Khan, 40, also praised the pilot: 'There was turbulence during the departure but the landing procedure was handled well. We panicked at first but all remained calm.'

The malfunction came nearly two months after Maylasia Airlines lost flight MH370, which mysteriously vanished en route to Beijing.

Hunt: The disappearance last month of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 has prompted a multinational search effort, which is now focused on the Indian Ocean

'New plans': Over the weekend Malaysia's defence minister gave a deadline of today before a new approach would need to be taken in the ongoing search for MH370

The Boeing 777 has still yet to be found, despite weeks of extensive searches in the southern Indian Ocean where it was ruled to have crashed, killing all 239 people on board.

Aircraft and ships continued to search the Indian Ocean north west of Perth today, while the Bluefin-21 underwater search vehicle scoured the ocean bed.

But, as in previous days, searchers have failed to find any clue to the whereabouts of the aircraft.

Over the weekend Malaysia's defence minister gave a deadline of today before new plans would need to be made regarding the ongoing search for MH370.

On Saturday Mr Hishammuddin Hussein, who is also the country's Acting Transport Minister, said it was his understanding 'that the search effort is entering a critical stage in the next 48 hours'.

'Whatever happens in that period, we will then regroup and discuss our next move.'



Mr Hisammuddin was speaking in Kuala Lumpur as the underwater drone Bluefin-21 was sent on its seventh mission 1500 miles north west of Perth, Western Australia, to search for any sign of the wreckage of the Boeing 777 aircraft.