Passengers evacuated from Garuda Indonesia plane at Changi Airport after ‘safety hazard’ in tail section

Garuda Indonesia plane seen with escape slides deployed at Changi Airport

A Garuda Indonesia plane evacuated its passengers at Changi Airport on Wednesday (25 March) after a “safety hazard” was found in its tail section, said the airline.

Photos posted on Instagram showed the plane with both its rear emergency slides deployed and fire engines next to it.

Several fire engines surround Garuda plane at Changi Airport

According to the post on Wednesday by plane-spotting account @the.plane.enthusiast, the Boeing 737-800 was scheduled to operate flight GA829 at 12.55pm that day.

However, the photos depicted multiple emergency services fire vehicles surrounding the aircraft, which had both its rear doors open.

The post pointed out that the area around the plane’s Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) engine, located in the tail cone, appeared to be covered in soot.

The section was “significantly darker” compared with when it departed Jakarta for Singapore six hours earlier, it said.

Passenger says they were told to evacuate before take-off

In a post on XiaoHongShu, a passenger on the flight said the plane’s power shut off at about 12.45pm, just as boarding was about to be completed.

Cabin crew then shouted for passengers to evacuate and deployed the inflatable slides.

Passengers were evacuated to the terminal, he added.

He also said he saw five fire engines and heard there was a fire in the luggage compartment.

“Thankfully, it wasn’t discovered only after take-off,” he commented, wondering what happened to his check-in luggage.

In a subsequent comment on the post, he said he had been transferred to a flight at 3.30pm.

All passengers disembarked safely: Airline

In a statement posted in a Facebook Story on Friday (27 March), Garuda confirmed that a “situation” had occurred on GA829, which was supposed to fly from Singapore to Jakarta at 12.55pm on 25 March.

The flight crew had identified a “safety hazard” on board during the boarding process, after most passengers had boarded, it said.

This hazard, which was in the tail section, posed a “potential risk to flight safety”.

Thus, all passengers were safely evacuated back to the boarding gate via the aerobridge and escape slides.

The slides were deployed to hasten disembarkation by ensuring the movement “proceeded swiftly and safely”, it added.

The passengers were transferred to another plane that took them to Jakarta, and also received compensation “in accordance with applicable regulations”, the airline stated.

Garuda apologised for any inconvenience caused, saying that flight safety and security remain its “utmost priority”, adding:

We continue to work closely with the relevant authorities to ensure all procedures are conducted in accordance with the prevailing aviation safety standards.

Also read: Garuda Indonesia flight carrying Hajj pilgrims makes emergency landing after engine fire

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Featured image adapted from @the.plane.enthusiast on Instagram.