THE Malaysia Airlines aircraft involved in an acid leak incident yesterday remains grounded at the Kota Kinabalu International Airport today, said a Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd official.

Senior manager Sunif Naiman said the Boeing 737 MH2614, which had flown from Kuala Lumpur, was undergoing repairs in a hangar.

“The aircraft has not taken off following repairs carried out last night,” he told The Malaysian Insight.

The flight had landed around 6pm.

The Fire and Rescue Department late last night said a chemical spill clean-up operation was carried out in the aircraft’s cargo area after two boxes containing the acidic wet cell battery fluid UN2794 burst on board.

A 10-member Hazmat team took two hours to clean up the corrosive chemical, using sulphur powder and a waste drum.

A source from the airline’s engineering division told The Malaysian Insight that the clean-up and repairs may take time.

“All of the aircraft’s lower part has to be opened and cleaned before it can be allowed to fly,” said the engineer, adding that airline technicians were checking every component of the affected part of the aircraft.

He said the spilled chemical was releasing fumes when the boxes were found, and that it could cause damage to the aircraft structure.

He said cargo staff noticed that the boxes were upside down when unloading last night.

“We are not going to take any chances.”

A cargo staff member earlier said there were four boxes containing acid, but only two were damaged.

He said there were other boxes in the cargo area, but none of the items inside was damaged as the liquid was absorbed by the cardboard boxes.

He added that cargo staff had been called in for questioning today over the incident.

Officials from the Fire and Rescue Department and MAS declined to say how many passengers had been on board MH2614 and whether the spill occurred during loading or while the aircraft was mid-air. – September 14, 2017.