Sunshade detaches on Malta Air flight, hits engine lever, issues urgency signal

A Milan-bound plane from Poland issued an urgency signal earlier this month after a momentary engine shutdown. 

However, the Malta Air flight headed to Milan’s Bergamo airport from Krakow on December 8 soon cancelled the distress call following a successful engine restart. 

Poland’s aviation investigation authority, Państwowa Komisja Badania Wypadków Lotniczych (PKBWL), reported that the Boeing 737 issued the PAN-PAN call following the detachment of the sunshade, which hit the engine start lever.

PAN-PAN calls are the international standard urgency signals to declare that an aircraft needs urgent help, but there is no immediate threat to life. 

“After a successful engine restart, the crew cancelled the PAN-PAN call and continued the flight toward the destination, informing the relevant Air Traffic Controller of their decision,” PKBWL say on its website.