An AirAsia X plane flying from Perth to Kuala Lumpur diverted back to Perth after ‘technical issues’ with the engine caused severe vibrations in the flight. — AFP pic

KUALA LUMPUR, June 27 — The “technical issue” on an AirAsia X plane flying from Perth to Kuala Lumpur on Sunday could have resulted in tragedy, said a former Airbus check and training captain.

According to Australian news website Perth Now, the veteran pilot said the plane could have lost the entire faulty engine, which would have ripped off its fuel lines.

The Airbus A330 in question is believed to have lost a turbine blade on one its engines, which resulted in an imbalance that caused the plane to rattle “like a washing machine”.

“When an engine has severe vibrations, it must be shut down immediately as the damage that can be inflicted is immense,” the former captain was quoted as saying.

“The engine can detach from the wing, which could be catastrophic. Fuel lines (could be) ripped open and electrics severely damaged or degraded,” he added, stressing that the incident should have been treated like an “engine fire”.

The flight from Perth to Kuala Lumpur diverted back to Perth after “technical issues” with the engine caused severe vibrations in the flight.

The incident met with added controversy as the pilot reportedly asked passengers to pray for their safety.

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) has classified the incident as serious.

The ATSB will investigate why the plane continued vibrating after the problem was detected and why the pilot did not opt to land at a nearer airport.

The pilots of the Airbus A330 opted not to divert to Learmonth, which was 25 minutes away when the incident occurred, and instead flew back to Perth that was 90 minutes away.

AirAsia said yesterday that it was also investigating the incident together with Roll Royce, the manufacturer of the engines used on the A330.