Incident Overview
On March 23, 2013 at 1806 UTC, a Boeing B747-4H6 aircraft, registration 9M-MPM, experienced an explosion and fire while starting the No. 4 engine at Jeddah, Saudi Arabia (JED). The incident occurred after pushback during the engine start sequence. A loud explosion was heard concurrently with a huge flame. Fire bottles were discharged in response.
Flight Information
The flight was a scheduled passenger service from Jeddah to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. There were 317 persons aboard, and no injuries were reported.
Aircraft Damage
A post-event inspection of the airplane revealed moderate thermal damage to the right wing outboard flap trailing edge and the jackscrew fairing.
Investigation
The General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is investigating the incident. As the State of Manufacture of the airplane and engines, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has designated a U.S. Accredited Representative under Annex 13 to the Convention on Civil Aviation and is offering assistance to the GACA.
All inquiries concerning this incident should be directed to the GACA at:
Aviation Safety Department Presidency of Civil Aviation P.O. Box 887 Jeddah 21165 Saudi Arabia
Tel.: (966) 2 640-5000, 685-5509 Fax: (966) 2 685-5507 AFTN: OEJDYAYX Telex: 601093 CIVAIR SJ Cable: CIVILAIR JEDDAH