Air transport “The plane was surprisingly easy to fly even with one engine” – Pilot Erwin Jonker now talks about moments of horror over Helsinki-Vantaa when a passenger plane suddenly crashed in the middle of a take-off on Wednesday

Lithuanian The airline’s twin-engine propeller turbine aircraft found itself in a dangerous situation on Wednesday night when one of its engines was shut down during take-off and the aircraft returned to Helsinki-Vantaa Airport.

As regards Finavia’s communications, it is confirmed to HS that the plane that flew to Transaviabaltika’s Savonlinna returned after take-off. This was not an emergency landing.

The pilot of the plane Erwin Jonker says that soon after the ascent, the right engine malfunctioned and was shut down to avoid further damage. The pilots gave a mayday invitation to the air traffic control and asked to return to Helsinki-Vantaa.

“We followed all the instructions and landed safely back on the runway from an altitude of 8,000 feet,” Jonker says.

There were two passengers in the plane. According to Jonker, the breakdown is a serious situation, but no one was in danger in the situation.

When the machine was then inspected on the ground, it emerged that its transmission had broken down and the entire engine needed to be replaced. According to Jonker, it has already been ordered from the United States and may take ten days to install.

He had not previously experienced a similar situation where another engine suddenly stops working without warning.

“The plane was surprisingly easy to fly with even one engine. It was harder in the simulator, ”he says.

Director of Aviation at the Finnish Transport and Communications Agency Traficom Jari Pöntinen confirm the information.

“The engine has been shut down and returned with one engine,” says Pöntinen.

“Of course, if one of the engines is turned off and down on a two-engine machine, it’s a dangerous situation.”

Company is the same one that HS reported about aviation safety concerns in October. The company has two similar 19-seater Bae Jetstream aircraft in use in Finland, the production of which has been discontinued since the 1990s.

Read more: Rusty aircraft engines freeze during flight in Sweden – Now the same aircraft starts carrying Finnish passengers

The flight safety of the second aircraft was on display some years ago in Sweden, where it was twice in danger. For example, rust damage was found on an aircraft flying with the ES-PJR registration number when it was inspected by the authorities.

The machine that is now in trouble in Finland is the company’s second machine, whose registration number is ES-PJA.

Company Attorney Jyri Koponen says the company’s other machine is operating traffic while the other is being repaired.

Pöntinen points out that the planes have been certified and the pilots have been trained to operate in situations similar to what happened on Wednesday.

“A serious accident has happened, but it is no exception in the world or in Finland,” he says.

“These happen very rarely in Finland, individual cases a year, not even every year.”

Pöntinen said on Thursday that the agency had not yet received an accurate report on what had happened.

In Sweden, the ES-PJR was once operated by the Estonian airline Avies. According to a report from the Swedish Accident Investigation Board, the machine was damaged by corrosion, among other things.

According to Pöntinen, these problems are behind us and will not be used to assess the airworthiness of the aircraft. According to him, the machine is now serviced by a different maintenance organization. Pöntinen told HS in October.

“There has been no reason for Traficom to interfere in the company’s operations.”

Lithuanian the airline is primarily supervised by the authority that has granted it a license, Pöntinen emphasizes. The company sends reports of possible incidents primarily to this responsible supervisory authority.

“As an operating country, we can conduct targeted ramp inspections. They shall be used in particular where there is reason to suspect ambiguity. ”

If the Finnish Accident Investigation Board (Otkes) finds that a serious incident has occurred at Helsinki-Vantaa Airport, it may investigate the matter.