AGX and Knot Global Japan found themselves cooperating on a critical AOG logistics shipment just days after meeting at the X2 Conference in Hua Hin, Thailand when an aircraft was forced to emergency land on the island of Okinawa while en route from Kuala Lumpur to Honolulu.

On 27 February a large commercial airliner carrying 379 passengers destined for Honolulu, Hawaii was grounded at Naha Airport on the Japanese island of Okinawa due to an engine failure and was in urgent need of AOG logistics services. Not long after departing Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia the airplane’s captain received indications of problems with the right engine. With the safety of the passengers as the main concern the captain shut down the engine and declared an emergency landing. The aircraft was directed to Okinawa’s Naha Airport where it landed safely without any injuries to passengers or crew.

At 04:00AM the same day, the AGX AOG desk received a call just 1 hour and 45 minutes after the engine indicated trouble and an in flight shut down was performed. After receiving the call the AGX Team was tasked with delivering a 40,000 kilogram Trent 700 aircraft engine with tooling and equipment to Naha, Japan.

Within 4 hours AGX chartered an IL-76 aircraft but also needed to acquire the necessary permissions and requirements for clearance. This is where fellow X2 Logistics Networks member Knot Global contributed to the successful transport of the needed engine.

The typical clearance time for acquiring permission to land at a Japanese airport is 10 days, but AGX, with the help of Knot Global Japan CEO Takamitsu Matsuzawa, clearance was acquired and the IL-76 aircraft carrying the engine was cleared for landing on 01 March, just 2 days later.

Although, Mr. Matsuzawa originally planned to travel from the site of the Annual X2 Conference in Hua Hin, Thailand to home in Tokyo, Japan; he instead changed his travel plans and flew directly to Naha to personally handle the charter clearance for the IL-76.

In the end the combination of AGX’s expertise in producing unique critical AOG solutions and the ability of Knot Global to be directly involved in supporting with local authorities allowed for the implementation of the fastest and most secure option. The Trent 700 engine was handed over to engineers at Naha Airport and within hours the aircraft was back in the sky.

This story has also been published by Air Cargo News and Air Cargo World.