The incident occurred on Thursday, February 23rd. The A321neo aircraft was heading from Istanbul Airport (IST) to Munich Airport (MUC) on flight TK1629. Takeoff from runway 35R took place at 08:38, 33 minutes later than scheduled (08:05).
The problems started a few minutes after takeoff. At an altitude of about 1 & nbsp; 400 meters, one of the Pratt & Whitney PW1133G. Passengers reported seeing smoke and smelling jet fuel in the cabin. The crew proceeded to counter-emergency actions, according to the checklist, and leveled the aircraft at an altitude of 1.5 km.
The liner was on standby over the Sea of Marmara for 30 minutes as the pilots carried out all safety checks before heading back to Istanbul. The A321neo landed safely at IST at 09:12, 34 minutes after takeoff, on the same runway it had taken off from.
Passengers headed back to the terminal, waiting for a new flight that would take them to Munich. The reserve aircraft departed Istanbul Airport at 11:28 and arrived at MUC at 11:39, with a delay of just under three hours. All things considered, the quick organization and preparation for the flight of the new A321 — a great merit of the Turkish side, which minimized the inconvenience for passengers.
Turkish Airlines — one of the largest A321neo operators in the world, the company currently has 38 machines of this type in its fleet. The airliner involved in the incident was delivered to the carrier from the Airbus plant in Hamburg in October 2020. It flies to many short and medium haul European destinations and neighboring countries.
The cabin has 20 business class seats in 2–2 layout and 162 in standard economy — 3–3.
The next two days after the incident, A321neo spent the next two days on the ground to fix an engine problem. On Saturday, February 25, the plane again received permission to fly. It is currently operating in Riyadh.
Turkish Airlines has launched an investigation into the cause of the engine failure, given how rare it is with such a new power plant. Despite a shortage of engines around the world, the carrier has the necessary stock of spare parts, thanks to which he was able to return his aircraft so quickly.