A Rex Airlines flight, scheduled to fly from Adelaide to Broken Hill, experienced an engine fire following an aborted takeoff on Wednesday morning. The Saab 340 twin-turboprop was set to take off around 7 a.m. when a fault indicator detected a problem with the left engine. Despite the immediate shutdown of the engine, residual unburnt fuel ignited, leading to flames and smoke emanating from the engine.
Passengers on board the flight managed to capture footage of the incident, which showed the engine engulfed in flames and smoke. After the decision to abort the takeoff, passengers were asked to disembark on the taxiway. They were subsequently transported back to the terminal by bus, while the aircraft was returned to its bay.
An official from Adelaide Airport confirmed that the runway was temporarily closed for about 20 minutes following the incident. Normal operations resumed at 8 a.m., and Rex Airlines is currently assisting affected passengers with rebooking their flights. There were no reported injuries as a result of the incident.
One of the passengers, Mark Goodger, described the incident as “a bit scary” to his wife, Julia. She shared with 7News that passengers were evacuated on the tarmac and have since received refunds.
In a statement, Rex Airlines confirmed that the crew followed standard operating procedures by aborting the takeoff and safely clearing the runway. The crew shut down the left engine, which led to a brief ignition of unburnt fuel in the engine’s exhaust pipe. The airline assured that all passengers have been accommodated on alternate services.
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) has announced that it will investigate the engine failure. The investigation will include a review of recorded flight data, interviews with the flight crew and other involved parties, and an examination of aircraft maintenance records and other relevant documentation.
Flight tracking data from Flight Aware showed that Flight ZL4818 eventually departed more than three hours late at 10:20 a.m. and arrived in Broken Hill at 11:16 a.m. The aircraft is scheduled to resume operations on Friday.