Malaysia's Transport Minister has praised the pilot of a Bangalore-bound troubled Malaysia Airlines (MAS) plane that was forced to make an emergency landing early today at an airport here for his "skillful" handling of the aircraft.
"The passengers, despite being tired, expressed their admiration for the pilot's skillful handling of the aircraft in making the emergency landing safe (at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport) without any harm to the passengers," Hishammuddin Hussein said.
The transport minister said he has also asked MAS to prepare a report about the incident and submit it to the ministry.
"Although MAS is under Khazanah Nasional, (the government's investment arm) we want a comprehensive report by Wednesday.
"This is because there have been many incidents involving MAS, including the disappearance of Flight MH370. The report has to be handed to my ministry and the Cabinet," he said.
The minister, who met the passengers soon after the emergency landing, told reporters that they had appreciated the pilot's handling of the aircraft landing safely.
Also present at the press conference was the pilot, Capt Nor Adam Azmi Abdul Razak, and several of the crew members.
Flight MH192, which departed for Bangalore, India, with 159 passengers and seven crew at 10.09 pm (local time) yesterday, suffered a landing gear snag upon take-off and turned back to KL International Airport. It landed safely at 1.56 am (local time) today.
Hishammuddin placed a pilot's cap on Nor Adam's head as a gesture of appreciation.