A Malindo Air flight bound for Kuala Terengganu had to turn back to the Subang Airport on Wednesday morning after one of its engines caught fire.
The hybrid airline, in a statement, said the incident occurred as the aircraft climbed to about 7,000 feet (2,334 metres) soon after it took off at 7.30am.
It said the aircraft fire detection system was activated and the crew immediately carried out an emergency standard operating procedure to contain the situation.
"The captain decided to turn back to Subang and the aircraft landed safely at the airport. No one was hurt.
"All the passengers were later transferred to another flight for Terengganu," it said.
Malindo Air said the cause of the fire was being investigated and the incident was reported to relevant authorities, including the engine and aircraft manufacturer.
It was learnt that Terengganu footballers were among the passengers onboard.
They were returning home after their Super League match against the Armed Forces at the Selayang Stadiumon Tuesday night. Terengganu won 3-0.
A picture of the burning engine posted on a social media site by Terengganu midfielder Mohd Faiz Subri on Wednesday morning went viral.
The Terengganu Football Association website said the team took a replacement flight back to Kuala Terengganu at 10am.
Headquartered in Petaling Jaya, Malindo Air is a joint venture between National Aerospace and Defence Industries (Nadi) of Malaysia and Lion Air of Indonesia.
Midfielder Mohd Faiz, 28, said the passengers had the fright of their life when they heard an explosion, after which they saw one of the plane propellers catching fire just after taking off.
"I could only pray that nothing bad would happen to us. Furthermore, it was the first time I encountered this kind of emergency.
"All of us were quite in a panic, but the pilot and crew acted professionally to calm us down," he told Bernama at the Sultan Mahmud Airport on Wednesday.
Defender Mohd Zubir Azmi, 26, said he became frightened and nervous as he thought of the fate of passengers and crew of the ill-fated Malaysia Airlines flight MH370.
"After the plane landed safely in Subang we thought of going back to Terengganu by bus, but we took the replacement flight at 11.15am anyway," he said.
Commending Malindo Air crew for their professionalism, another passenger, Dietmar Gierlich, 31, who was on a work trip, said: "The crew asked the passengers not to panic and took very fast action. The passengers also co-operated well with the crew and every one had made things easier."
Dismissing a suggestion that he will not be flying by Malindo Air again, he said, "The situation could happen to anyone or any plane in the world."
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