Fourth Emergency For Sri Lankan Airline Since February Apr 19, 2001

A Sri Lankan Airlines Airbus A-330 from the Maldives made an emergency landing after an engine malfunctioned in flight on Wednesday, officials said.

One of the plane's two engines had to be shut down, said Manuela Motha, a spokeswoman for SriLankan, the national carrier.

None of the 153 passengers on board was hurt, she said.

It was the fourth reported emergency since February for the airline, which is run jointly by the Sri Lankan government and Dubai-based Emirates Airlines.

On April 11, 145 passengers made an emergency evacuation from an A-330 aircraft bound for Frankfurt, Germany after smoke appeared in the cabin. One injured passenger died in hospital later, while a woman suffered a miscarriage and two others were wounded.

An Airbus A-320 bound for Dhaka, Bangladesh, returned to the Sri Lankan capital, Colombo, shortly after takeoff on February 21, due to a malfunctioning engine.

On February 12, an Airbus A-340 returned to Colombo after being in the air for 5 1/2 hours. Airport officials said a wheel had burst on takeoff.

There were no injuries in either incident, the airline said. http://news.airwise.com/stories/2001/04/987672595.html

-- Doris (nocents@bellsouth.net), April 19, 2001