A Malaysia Airlines Boeing 737 made an emergency landing at Jakarta/Soekarno-Hatta Airport yesterday (April 19).
The 737-800, 9M-MXK (c/n 40138) was operating flight MH723 which connects Kuala Lumpur with the Indonesian capital.
In a statement to Key.Aero, a Malaysia Airlines spokesperson said the twinjet encountered a “technical anomaly in its pressurisation system” as it descended to approach its destination.
“The aircraft was at approximately 60 nautical miles and at an altitude of 19,000 feet,” the spokesperson added.
According to flight tracking data from Flightradar24, the jet’s vertical speed peaked at -5,568fpm around this time. The steep descent continued until the aircraft reached 10,000ft where it levelled off.
About one minute later, the crew squawked the emergency code 7700 as they passed north abeam the airport.
The ten-year-old twinjet then continued west and conducted one loop around a holding pattern while continuing to descend.
The aircraft landed safely on runway 07R a short time later.
“Passengers and crew safely disembarked as per normal procedures. Safety remains of utmost importance to Malaysia Airlines,” the spokesperson added.
At the time of writing, 9M-MXK is still on the ground in Jakarta.
Powered by two CFM International CFM56 turbofans, the 737 is configured to seat 160 passengers in a two-class layout.
