'God, save our flight! Give us your protection!'
Prayers as Cathay Pacific Airbus 330 makes emergency landing in Singapore
The Cathay Pacific Airbus A330-300 later made an emergency landing, Singapore's international airport said.
Changi Airport said in a statement that flight CX715 took off from Singapore heading to Jakarta at 1:12 a.m., but turned around after engine trouble and landed at 1:57 a.m.
Reuters photographer Beawiharta was aboard the plane with his wife, two sons and daughter. About 20 minutes after take-off, there were two sharp bangs, sending cabin staff scurrying to retrieve the meals they had only just begun serving.
The plane began shaking violently, he said, and the lights went out. He could smell something burning.
'Will we die?'
His son, Pradipta, 15, said he saw nothing as he peered out the window.
"But I asked him to cup his hands to get a better view," Beawiharta said. "He shouted: 'I see fire! I see fire!'
"Panicked, he then asked: 'Will we die? Will we die?' I took his hand and told him firmly: 'No, we are going to live.'
"Behind us, passengers were praying: 'God, save our flight! Give us your protection!'"
The prayers got louder and louder, pierced by only the occasional cry of panic.
"A stewardess told us an engine had caught fire and we were on our way back to Singapore. Glued to the window, my son said he could see lights, the sea and ships and then lights on the ground. We all grabbed life jackets from beneath our seats, but the plane landed smoothly.
"Within five minutes, as firefighters doused the damaged engine, we walked off the plane into the terminal."
Cathay Pacific said the jet, which had 136 passengers on board, landed back in Singapore "without incident". It said the crew shut down the engine after receiving a "stall warning".
No one was injured.
The passengers' calm response earned praise from the captain. In the waiting room, the pilot greeted assembled passengers.
"The best that we can ever ask of passengers is to stay cool, stay calm ... which you did," he said. "And for that we thank you."
The airport said firefighters extinguished the fire and normal flight operations resumed on the runway about an hour later.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
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