On November 23rd, an Aerostan Boeing 747-200, registration EX-47001, suffered an incident while departing from Macau International Airport (MFM) en route to Manas International Airport (FRU) in Kyrgyzstan. The aircraft was climbing out of Macau’s runway 16 when engine #2 began emitting bangs and streaks of flames.

What happened to Aerostan’s flight KW-4053?

Earlier this week, Aerostan’s Boeing 747-200, registration EX-47001, was performing flight KW-4053 between Macau (China) and Bishkek (Kyrgyzstan). As reported by AvHerald, the crew was climbing out of Macau’s runway 16. They then suddenly stopped the climb at about 10,000 feet after the Queen of the Skies suffered an engine failure. The second engine, a Pratt & Whitney JT9D, inboard left hand, began emitting bangs and streaks of flames.

Following that, the crew shut down the engine and returned to Macau. They landed safely on runway 34 about 40 minutes after departure. Macau’s Civil Aviation explained on its website,

“Some time after taking off from the runway of Macau International Airport, the cockpit control panel of the aircraft indicated fire on engine No. 2. The captain immediately performed trouble shooting in accordance with the operations procedures, shut down engine No. 2, dumped fuel to allow the aircraft to reach the weight level safe for landing, and requested Macau International Airport for an emergency landing. Upon receipt of the notification, the airport activated the Emergency Operations Centre at 13:46 to prepare for the contingency work.

The cargo aircraft eventually landed safely on the runway at 13:59. The airport firefighting crew put off the engine fire upon request by the captain, and the aircraft was then towed to the apron. The incident did not cause any injuries to the flight crew. After assessing that the aircraft did not have other safety concerns, the Emergency Operations Centre was deactivated at 14:44, and the airport resumed normal operations.”

Following the incident, the aircraft was technically assessed. Macau’s civil aviation authorities confirmed that, during the technical assessment, the maintenance team performed safety measures to the fan blades; therefore, the aircraft was able to operate a ferry flight with three operative engines. On November 24, the Boeing 747 flew from Macau to Bishkek.

Aerostan’s fleet and aircraft involved in the incident

Aerostan is a cargo carrier based in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. According to data by ch-aviation, Aerostan has a fleet of four aircraft, of which only two are currently active. These planes are an Airbus A300(F), two Boeing 747-200B(SF), which include the aircraft involved in this week’s incident, and a Boeing 747-200FSCD.

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The plane involved in this week’s incident is a 35-year-old Queen of the Skies currently owned by Air Speed Charter. The aircraft was first ordered in 1985 by United Airlines, which took delivery of it in 1987.

Throughout its history, this jumbo aircraft had five operators prior to Aerostan. These were United Airlines between 1987 and 2000, followed by Northwest Airlines between 2000 and 2001. The plane had a long hiatus parked between 2001 and 2008 before being operated by Delta Air Lines between 2008 and 2009. Kalitta Air also operated the aircraft, now as a freighter, between 2010 and 2016, before going to Sigma Airlines, a carrier from Kazakhstan, where it stayed until 2020. Finally, Aerostan took the 747-200 in 2020.

As a passenger aircraft, EX-47001 amassed 74,123 flight hours and 9,755 flight cycles, with an average daily utilization of nine hours and four minutes.

What do you think about this incident? Let us know in the comments below.

Source: avherald.com, FlightRadar24.com, ch-aviation.