Etihad flight makes emergency landing at Adelaide Airport

ETIHAD B777-3FX A6-ETR (CN 41701)              File Photo

An Etihad flight travelling from Abu Dhabi to Sydney made an emergency landing at Adelaide airport at 4.54am (local time) this morning. 18.24 UTC
Initially it was believed a smoke alarm that went off in the cargo hold was the cause of the incident but a spokesman for Etihad said an air recirculation fan in the cargo hold was to blame.

Passengers were frustrated with the lack of communications, some saying they were not told any information until they had landed.

“They were hastily putting away the breakfast trolleys and rushing up and down the corridors,” one passenger said. “We had no idea what was going on...only after we landed we asked an Etihad staff and were told the smoke alarm had went off in the cargo hold.”
The Boeing 777 landed on runway 23 in Adelaide and after pulling up on a taxi way over 300 passengers disembarked while the firetrucks attended the aircraft.

Passengers were then taken to the terminal on busses while the aircraft was later towed to the gate to undergo safety checks.
"Additionally, flight EY451, from Sydney back to Abu Dhabi this evening, has been cancelled. Passengers who have been booked on the flight will be re-booked on later Etihad Airways services out of Sydney.

Aircraft Details are:
Operator: Etihad Airways
Aircraft Type: Boeing 777-3FX
Engines: 2 x GE GE90-115B
Registration: A6-ETR
Serial Number: 41701
Flight Number: ET 450
First Flight: 2/11/2013 (3 Yrs 11 Mths)