Hawaiian Airlines flight forced to make emergency landing at Kahului Airport

KAHULUI, MAUI (HawaiiNewsNow) - A Hawaiian Airlines flight from Honolulu to Kona made an emergency landing Tuesday morning at the Kahului Airport, according to the state Department of Transportation.

A Hawaiian Airlines spokeswoman said HA 118 left Honolulu at 6:55 a.m., but while the plane was up in the air, it experienced a left engine surge, forcing the flight crew to divert the plane to Maui. The plane landed safely at the Kahului Airport at around 7:30 a.m.

Maui firefighters extinguished smoke -- emanating from the engine -- with foam as nearly 75 passengers were instructed to stay on board the plane. No injuries were reported.

The plane was towed to the gate at around 8 a.m. and runway operations were halted temporarily, but the DOT said everything is back to normal.

All passengers were eventually deplaned and will be re-accommodated, Hawaiian Airlines said.

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