A Norwegian Air Boeing 737MAX was forced to divert to Iran after suffering a mechanical failure
- A Norwegian Air Boeing 737MAX was forced to make an unscheduled landing in Iran on Friday due to a technical malfunction.
- The two-month-old jet landed safely in Shiraz, Iran.
- The 189 passengers and crew on board were transported to a hotel near the airport.
- A relief Boeing 737-800 was dispatched from Norway along with a pair of technicians who will determine if spare parts will need to be sourced.
- It is unclear if there will be complications with parts procurement due to recent US sanctions against Iran.
A Norwegian Air Boeing 737MAX was forced to make an unscheduled landing in Iran on Friday due to a technical malfunction.
Norwegian Air Flight 1933 was en route from Dubai in the United Arab Emirates to Oslo, Norway when it was forced to divert to Shiraz, Iran.
"The aircraft landed normally and taxied to a gate allowing passengers to disembark," Anders Lindstrom, Norwegian Air's director of communications in the US, told Business Insider via email.
No injuries have been reported among the 189 passengers and crew on board the flight.
After landing, all passengers were transported to a hotel near the airport, Lindstrom said. A relief Boeing 737-800 was dispatched to Iran from Norway to pick up the stranded passengers.
The relief flight will bring the passengers to Oslo on Saturday after the flight crew completes their mandatory rest period.
According to Norwegian, the brand-new Boeing 737MAX suffered an unspecified "technical issue." The aircraft involved in the incident, registration LN-BKE, was just delivered to the airline in at the end of October.
However, flight tracking website FlightRadar24 pointed to a possible issue with the Boeing's CFM International LEAP 1B engines.
Read more: The nastiest feud in the airline industry is back.
The airline sent two technicians with the relief plane. These technicians will conduct an evaluation of the stricken aircraft to determine if spare parts will be required, Lindstrom told us.
With the US government's recent sanction on Iran, it is unclear if spare parts for the Renton, Washington-assembled jet, can be procured. The plane's engines are made by CFM International, a joint venture between GE Aviation and France's Safran Aircraft Engines.
Here is Norwegian Air's statement in its entirety:
"Due to a technical issue, flight DY1933 from Dubai to Oslo, was forced to divert to Shiraz International Airport. The aircraft landed normally and taxied to a gate allowing passengers to disembark. The safety of our passengers and crew is always our number one priority.
All passengers have been accommodated in a hotel near the airport. A Norwegian relief aircraft has arrived, and after mandatory crew rest, it will bring all passengers to Oslo tomorrow morning.
Norwegian apologizes for any inconvenience caused."