Airbus A330 incident near Alice Springs, Au, January 18, 2018
On January 18, 2018 at about 2:25 pm local time, a Airbus A330, registered N9MMTM, was involved in an incident during enroute (cruise) near Alice Springs (Alice Springs airport). It was flown under non-U.S. commercial rules. No one was hurt; 255 people were on board or involved.
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The NTSB has not yet published a probable cause for this incident. Investigations usually take one to two years; this page updates when the final report is released.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- January 18, 2018 · about 2:25 pm local time
- Place
- Alice Springs, Australia · Alice Springs · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 255 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- not recorded
- Aircraft
- Airbus A330 323 · all A330s on the register
- Registration
- N9MMTM · no longer on the register · serial 1431
- Damage
- Not recorded
- Flight
- Flight · non-U.S. commercial rules
The NTSB's narrative preliminary · quoted from the NTSB record
On January 18, 2018, about 14:25 Western Australian standard time, a Malaysian-registered Airbus A330-323 airplane had the No. 1 engine, a Pratt & Whitney PW4168A engine shutdown by the flight crew after it had compressor stalls. The airplane, which was operating from Sydney, Australia to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia diverted to Alice Springs, Australia for landing. There were no injuries to the 2 flight crew, 8 flight attendants, and 245 passengers on board. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) is investigating this incident. All inquiries concerning this incident should be the directed to the ATSB. Australian Transport Safety Bureau 62 Northbourne Avenue Canberra ACT 2601 Telephone: 1800 020 616 International Telephone: +61 2 6257 4150 Website: www.atsb.gov.au
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
What happened, in order
- Loss of engine power (partial) during enroute (cruise) defining event
Crew member
No details recorded.
The aircraft
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine 1: Pratt & Whitney PW4168A (turbofan); 0 hours total
- Engine 2: Pratt & Whitney PW4168A (turbofan); 0 hours total
- Operator: Malaysia Airlines
The flight
- Departed from: SYD Sydney
- Destination: KUL Kuala Lumpur
- Flight plan: IFR
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cabi | 8 | |||
| Flight crew | 2 | |||
| Passengers | 245 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The NTSB has not released the docket for this case yet. The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), is usually released when the investigation is nearly complete, and the list here is refreshed when it appears. Check at the NTSB.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.