China Airlines Airbus-300 with 252 pax forced to shut down one of 2 engines & divert
 

A China Airlines Airbus-300, with 252 pax was forced to shut down one of its two engines after a warning light came on showing low pressure in the No 2 engine oil filter. Flight CI-691 left Taiwan's Chiang Kai-shek International Airport bound for Phuket at 12.23 pm on Sunday.

At 2.20 pm, the warning light came on and, following standard procedure, the flight crew shut down the engine, the airline said, and the plane diverted to BKK and landed without incident.

Taiwan's United Daily News, TV broadcaster TVBS and other media reported that an oily smell filled the cabin and the oxygen masks were dropped, alarming pax.

The airline has been trying to improve its safety record, including the hiring of engineering and flight experts from overseas and a stepped-up training program. These changes were in response to a series of incidents including a botched landing in Hongkong in August 1999 that killed three and a February 1998 crash in Taiwan killing 202.