A Royal Malaysian Air Force F/A-18D Hornet fighter jet made an emergency landing at Kota Kinabalu International Airport (KKIA) on the evening of May 19, 2026 at 7:47 pm local time after experiencing engine trouble on a training flight, officials said [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6].
The aircraft encountered an issue with its left engine, described by some sources as a flameout and by others as an engine oil system emergency. RMAF chief General Datuk Seri Muhamad Norazlan Aris said, "The aircraft was on a routine flight. There was an emergency involving the engine oil system. The engine was shut down and the aircraft landed safely" [2, 3]. The pilot followed emergency procedures by shutting down the affected engine and diverting to KKIA as a precautionary measure [2, 3, 5].
No injuries were reported in connection with the incident, military sources confirmed [2, 3, 5]. After landing, the fighter jet was parked at Terminal 2 of KKIA where engineers and a technical team deployed by the RMAF conducted inspections on the aircraft [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6].
The jet was returning from a night Air-to-Surface Firing Exercise conducted in Kota Belud, Sabah. It had been deployed from the Labuan Air Base [3, 5]. Locals in Sepanggar and Kota Kinabalu reported hearing a loud booming sound around the time of the emergency, leading to public speculation on social media [1, 3, 6].
The RMAF Public Relations Division at Air Force Headquarters confirmed, "The aircraft landed safely at 7:47pm" [5]. Flight safety remains a top priority, and the aircraft is expected to return to its home base after completing inspections [3, 5].
The F/A-18D Hornet jets currently in service were procured in 1993 and are part of the RMAF’s 18th Squadron based in Butterworth, Penang [3].
