PETALING JAYA: Fearing the worst, a passenger on Malaysia Airlines Flight MH066 from Kuala Lumpur to Incheon, South Korea, inflated a life jacket after learning that the aircraft’s generator had failed.

The incident happened when the flight was diverted to Hong Kong following the generator failure.

“Yes, one passenger did so and others followed suit. However, they were not instructed by our cabin crew to do so as it did not involve an emergency landing,” the airline confirmed in an e-mail yesterday.

In a statement, MAS said the Airbus A330-300 landed at the Hong Kong International Airport “uneventfully” following the minor scare. It added that electrical power continued to be supplied by the auxiliary power unit during the flight.

Flight MH066 left Kuala Lumpur at 11.37pm on Sunday and was scheduled to arrive at Incheon International Airport at 5.50am local time yesterday. Following the incident, MAS said the return flight, MH067, was cancelled and its 271 passengers were transferred to other carriers and subsequent MAS flights back to Kuala Lumpur.

According to a MAS official who wished to remain anonymous, the aircraft is expected to remain grounded for an unspecified time because it would need to have usable life jackets on board for its next flight.

“Once they are inflated, they cannot be used again until they are refilled. The gas used to refill the life jackets are classified as dangerous goods and must be packed carefully before the aircraft is certified to fly again,” he said.