Plane fire was ‘error’

EIGHT passengers on board a small plane in Victoria were wrongly told an engine had caught fire and the crew issued a distress call.

The incident happened last September on a flight from Portland to Essendon when fire warning panels and warning lights for the left engine lit up, prompting the crew to declare a mayday call and land prematurely.

An Australian Transport Safety Bureau investigation found yesterday the plane’s engine fire warning system lit up in error.