Perth - Kuala Lumpur AirAsia X flight turns back due to technical issues

PETALING JAYA: AirAsia X flight D7237 bound for Kuala Lumpur from Perth, Australia has returned to Perth Airport due to a "technical issue". 

AirAsia X in a statement on Sunday confirmed that the flight "landed safely" at 10am (Perth time), about three hours after it departed with 359 passengers on board. 

"Passengers were attended to by our ground staff upon landing and all necessary assistance are being provided," said AirAsia X. 

It added that airline engineers are taking precautionary steps to check the aircraft. 

"Guests on board the flight will be transferred to the next available flight or the recovery flight which is scheduled to depart Perth at 20:30 hours (Perth time) tonight," said the airline in a Sunday statement. 

"The safety of our guests is our utmost priority," it said. 

Passenger Sophie Nicolas who was on board the flight told Australian publication PerthNow that she heard a small explosion from the left wing. 

“You could tell by the cabin crew’s reaction that it was really bad,” she told PerthNow. 

She said the captain then announced the plane would be returning to Perth. 

“He said ‘I hope you all say a prayer, I’ll be saying a prayer too and let’s hope we all get back home safely. It was terrifying,” said Nicolas.