AIRASIA X has confirmed that flight D7237 which was en route from Perth, Australia to Kuala Lumpur was forced to return to the Perth airport shortly after take-off yesterday due a technical issue.

The airline said on June 25, the plane which took off at 6.50am local time with 359 passengers on board landed safely at the airport at 10am.

AirAsia X said that passengers were attended to by ground staff upon landing and were provided with all necessary assistance.  

“Our engineers are taking the precautionary steps to check the aircraft. Guests on board the flight have been transferred to the next available flight or the recovery flight D7 689 which has safely departed Perth at 23:40hrs of the same day.”

It was reported that the AirAsia flight was forced back to the airport yesterday due to a technical problem, with one passenger saying the plane was “shaking like a washing machine”.

The Airbus A330 carrier travelling from Perth to Kuala Lumpur experienced problems about 90 minutes into the journey.

“The pilot identified technical issues, turned around and returned,” an airport spokesman told AFP, adding that emergency crew members were put on standby but not needed.

The Malaysian low-cost carrier reportedly announced that “flight crew are taking precautionary measures to check the aircraft”.

The West Australian newspaper cited passengers on as saying they heard a bang and then the plane started shuddering.

“You could tell by the cabin crew’s reaction that it was really bad,” Sophie Nicolas was quoted as saying by the paper.

“It was terrifying.”

The Herald Sun had reported that the pilot had told passengers to “say a prayer” after an apparent engine issue that forced the plane to return to Perth.

When asked if this is protocol or should it even be announced as it might spook passengers, AirAsia X said they have nothing further to add. 

Another passenger, Brenton Atkinson, told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation the whole plane started shaking, far more than standard turbulence.

“It was essentially the engine seized up I think, that’s what they told us anyway,” he said.

“It was literally like you were sitting on top of a washing machine. The whole thing was going. We could see the engine out the window which was really shaking on the wing.

“Once we landed we realised one of the blades had actually come off the turbine.”

The airline suffered its first fatal incident in December 2014, when AirAsia Flight QZ8501 crashed in stormy weather off Indonesia with 162 people on board. – June 26, 2017.