Hawaiian Airlines Flight to Maui Diverted Back to Oʻahu After Engine Trouble

Hawaiian Airlines, file photo by Wendy Osher.

By Wendy Osher

A Hawaiian Airlines flight that was bound from Honolulu to Kahului this morning was diverted back to Oʻahu after experiencing engine trouble.

The flight reportedly landed safely and there were no injuries reported.

Maui Now spoke to passenger Mollie Bruhl who described a “sudden, loud, whining” noise that she said was, “so loud, I couldn’t hear my own voice.”

Bruhl said the noise continued for a while, the plane slowed, and there was a slight tilt.  “We could all tell something wasn’t right,” said Bruhl.

According to Bruhl, the plane started turning around slowly and the pilot announced there was engine trouble, the flight would be returning to Oʻahu, and they were expected to have a safe landing.

“The pilots and crew handled everything really well and everyone was very calm,” said Bruhl.

Ann Botticelli, SVP Corporate Communications and Public Affairs at Hawaiian Airlines issued a statement this afternoon saying, HA114 was 17 minutes into its flight this morning when the captain decided to return to Honolulu “due to an engine compressor stall, which is an interruption in the flow of air to the engine.”

Botticelli said the pilot shut down the engine to avoid damage and the plane returned safely to Honolulu. “As you know, safety is our priority,” said Botticelli in an email communication to Maui Now.

KHON2 reports the flight was #114 aboard The flight was a Boeing 717-200 aircraft that departed from Honolulu International Airport and safely landed at 6:32 a.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2015.

Bruhl, who works with the Special Olympics Hawaiʻi, was flying to Maui to attend meetings.  She switched planes and arrived on Maui aboard a second flight that departed at 8:30 a.m.  The second flight, she said, was not as full as the first.