It was a case of smoke without fire says airline

THERE is such thing as smoke without fire, according to Russian airline Transaero, which yesterday played down reports of an incident at Larnaca airport on Saturday, when a plane’s engine set alight on landing.

According to the fire services deputy chief, Stelios Stylianou, small flames and smoke were visible coming out of the starboard engine of Transaero Boeing 767, which arrived from St Petersberg at 10am on Saturday morning.

However, a Transaero press spokesman told the Cyprus Mail yesterday that there were no flames, and that the smoke was due to a minor – and harmless –  fault in the engine’s water system.

“There was no fire. There was some smoke coming from the engine, but it did not go into the plane, and was not a danger to any of the passengers.”

Asked what might have caused the smoke, he said that it was due to over-heating in the engine, but insisted that “everything was absolutely normal”. Despite this, the on board fire extinguishing system, activated by the pilot, failing to stop the smoke coming from the engine.

Within a minute of landing, four fire engines arrived at the scene and sprayed the engine and surrounding tarmac with foam to extinguish the flames. “The fire was put out and the fire fighters then covered the spilled lubricants on the runway with foam,” Stylianou said. The four trucks then towed the plane off the runway, which remained closed for ten minutes.

Shortly afterwards, Transaero sent out a team of engineers, who arrived at Larnaca around five hours later. The spokesman said. “We decided to send a flight from Moscow It was easy to repair, and no parts needed to be replaced.” The plane has since resumed flying.

All 198 of the Russian nationals on board departed for their destinations with little disruption.

Transaero Airlines reportedly has the best safety record of any Russian based carrier, and according to the company website, “Flight safety and aviation security are the chief and obligatory requirements for the operation of an airline. Transaero Airlines is switching to active flight safety and security measures based upon the prevention of aviation accidents through risk management.” The airline offers scheduled and charter flights to more than 70 domestic and international destinations.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.