Domestic airline, Air Iceland, was forced to abort a flight from Egilsstadir to Reykjavik on Tuesday due to engine failure. The Fokker 50 airplane and the 38 passengers on board were turned around and landed again safely in Egilsstadir.
One of the aeroplane’s engines had to be turned off after it began losing oil pressure according to flight regulations. In addition, a press release from Air Iceland said that during the flight, the cabin lost equalising pressure.
Since Egilsstadir was closer than Reykjavik, the pilot made the decision to turn around and land immediately, as soon as the problems became apparent.
The plane landed successfully and the pilot spoke to the passengers about what had happened. Emergency staff including firefighters and police officers met the plane on the ground and crisis counselling was offered by the airline in Egilsstadir.
Air Iceland sought to reassure the public that the plane was never in any danger of crashing. The Fokker 50 aeroplane is able to fly with one functional engine and could have completed the flight to Reykjavik.