737..
 

My trusty old GPS shows 737km from Curtin to downtown Port Hedland..

Darwin weather at the time was no good (I was in it😏).

Curtin/Derby must hardly have any people there let alone permanent ARFF.

On the face of it looks like the tech crew did a good job to me.

'Shaking' Malaysia Airlines flight turns back to Australia
 

'Shaking' Malaysia Airlines flight turns back to Australia - BBC News

Sounds like a very unpleasant experience, but with a good outcome.
No explanation given though - any more inf out there?

EDIT:
Engine Failure? http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-01-1...prings/9341584

Track: https://www.flightradar24.com/data/f...mh122#102853f6

Not surprisingly, there is a thread already running the the Australian Forum!

There is a regular USAF milkrun flight for the Pine Gapians.

AirAsia didn’t divert and went to Melbourne. Got a thrashing on pprune for doing so.

Malaysian diverted to Alice instead of continuing. Got a thrashing on pprune for doing so.

:ugh::ugh::ugh:

What happened to land at the nearest :ugh::ugh::ugh::ugh::ugh::ugh::ugh::ugh::ugh::ugh:

Nearest what?

"What happened to land at the nearest ............" ????????

Nearest suitable is not necessarily the nearest physically. No-one here thus far has indicated what MH policy has to say. Might be smart to learn that before making comments..

Capt Fathom, you beat me to it - ".... land at the nearest" what?

The 777 QRH, for example, has many references to "Plan to land at the nearest suitable airport." Quite a few things to consider for an airport to be suitable, including being available for use, and weather commensurate with the types of approach that can be used.

"To land the airplane as soon as possible, if needed" tends to be limited to time critical things e.g. Smoke, Fire or Fumes, the priority being to get the aircraft on the deck quickly, before the event overwhelms the crew and/or aircraft.

But, 1a sound asleep, to cry "Whatever happened to land at the nearest" and bang heads against walls ...... well, you perhaps haven't given your comment as much thought as you should? Until it is clear(er) what happened to MH122, you aren't really in a position to criticise, are you?

I actually have/had that on VHS, one of the all time great TV interviews, unlike talkback radio, TV is "real time"(or was??).
Tootle pip!!

Only by prior arrangement or in an emergency.

The USAF milkruns are cleared elsewhere usually Richmond I believe.

Diverting to YBAS sounds like a perfectly reasonable decision to me, based on what has been reported. And since when does it matter whether it is an 'international aiport'? It's not as though they planned to go there!

From the AIPs, Gen, page 1.2-22. Suitable for international ops. in these circumstances..
"Alternate Airports to International Airports
Alice Springs
Serviced for international arrivals in the event of an emergency/stress"

Interesting the discussion here about where to land and particularly what the company policy is. If I was a passenger, or indeed the pilot with an engine failure on a twin engine aircraft, the last thing on the list of considerations to me would be company policy. the heroes who want to continue beyond the absolute nearest runway that can accept the aircraft in my opinion are crazy. An engine has failed, why? what has caused it? what is the condition of the other engine? will it fail also? Is the failed engine windmilling? will it suddenly seize? what are the consequences if it does? was the pylon damaged in any way during the event? If I am ever a passenger on an aircraft that you are flying and it has an engine failure (catastrophic by the sounds of it), please forget all the hero pilot **** and get the damn thing on the ground as soon as possible:rolleyes:

My definition of nearest suitable does not include maintenance facilities because the big book “ capts guide to maintenance facilities worldwide “ has been removed to save weight.

There is a grave yard at Alice if they want to leave it there......

I’d much rather the pilots,to use Gene Krantzs phrase
“ work the problem” rather than being distracted telling me as SLF they’re “working the problem”. The word nearest is interesting the Honeywell FMC alternates Page never gives less than 15mins if at cruising altitude. Nearest in distance is not necessarily nearest in time. If it’s ok with you Arnold I’ll fly an extra few minutes to have a 20kt HW v a 20kt XW OEI because I’m not a hero. I also know the other engine maybe suspect ( eg.ice crystal icing ) but again also know if I get to 1000R clean at 210kts the jet will autoland no engines.

Looks like it was handled well by the crew, kudos. Not surprising since MH from my understanding has very good standards and training. Just happen to be ‘Victims’ of two unfortunate events quite close together. I doubt the other KL based operator would’ve made the same decisions.....