[Matt Coughran]

HONG KONG—Eight people were injured Tuesday when a Cathay Pacific Airways jet made an emergency landing in Hong Kong after experiencing engine problems, in one of the carrier's most serious incidents in recent years involving safety.

Hong Kong's Civil Aviation Department and Cathay Pacific officials offered few details on the cause of the incident pending an investigation. Cathay Pacific Chief Executive Tony Tyler did say the Airbus A330-300 aircraft, which was carrying 309 passengers and 13 crew members, encountered engine trouble as it approached the city's airport on a flight from Surabaya, Indonesia.

The airline, which is based in Hong Kong, said in a statement that the jet's left-hand engine shut down as the aircraft made its landing approach. The other engine was functioning, according to the statement.

When flight CX780 landed, a small fire broke out on its main landing gear that was quickly extinguished by fire services. The fire was likely caused by tires overheating when the pilots executed the plane's emergency braking system, the government's aviation department said.

The crew deployed emergency slides to evacuate passengers on the runway. Authorities said the eight passengers sent to hospital suffered injuries to the legs, arms and head that were likely caused during the evacuation process.

"At the moment, it is far too early to speculate on the causes of this incident, and we will of course act on anything we need to make sure our fleet remains the safest fleet in the air," Mr. Tyler said at a news conference. He declined to say whether the airline would suspend its A330 aircraft from service.

Mr. Tyler said the Airbus aircraft involved joined Cathay Pacific's fleet in 1998 and last underwent a full maintenance overhaul in October 2008. Cathay Pacific has more than 30 A330s in service, operating mainly on regional and Australian flights. The A330 first entered service with the airline in 1995.

Cathay Pacific has enjoyed a solid safety record in recent years. However, the latest incident wasn't the first time the airline has experienced a problem with its A330 aircraft.

In 1997, Cathay Pacific grounded its entire fleet of A330s for nearly two weeks because of problems with the planes' Rolls-Royce Trent 700 engines. Trouble with the gearboxes of the Rolls-Royce engines caused some in-flight engine shutdowns, prompting the carrier to take the aircraft out of service for immediate modifications.

Hong Kong's Civil Aviation Department said it will launch a full inquiry into the incident and said it will invite French and U.K. air-crash investigators to join the probe. The Airbus aircraft was manufactured in France, while its Rolls-Royce engines were made in the U.K.

The government said Hong Kong's airport suffered little disruption from the incident, with 35 flights being delayed by fewer than 30 minutes.

Source: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000...IDDLTopStories

Photo Taken by Thomas Kwan

Rego: B-HLL