MAS plane catches fire
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GEORGE TOWN (Penang) - A MALAYSIAN airlines (MAS) Boeing 737 from Singapore caught fire during its descent at the Penang International Airport in Bayan Lepas near here on Thursday afternoon, prompting an emergency landing.
MH674, carrying 83 passengers and seven crew members, was scheduled to land at 12.15pm but lifted out of its descent when a series of small explosions was heard from the right side of the plane, followed by flames.
According to passenger accounts, the pilot circled the airport once and managed to extinguish the flames before landing safely at about 12.30pm.
Nobody was injured in the incident.
Penang International Airport senior manager Abdul Wahab Mohd Yusof said the runway was closed for 20 minutes while the aircraft was towed to the bay.
'The runway was reopened at 12.50pm,' he said.
-- THE STAR/ANN
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Did the plane dump fuel on the island?
If it did, it would be raining aviation fuel.