Sri Lanka, Dec. 17 -- A Turkish Airlines passenger aircraft made a safe emergency landing at Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA), Katunayake, last night after reporting a technical fault shortly after takeoff, airport officials said.

The Airbus A330, operating flight TK 733 to Istanbul, departed Katunayake at around 10.00 p.m. last night with 202 passengers and 10 crew members on board. Soon after departure, pilots detected an issue with the aircraft's wheel system while flying at approximately 4,000 feet over the Chilaw area.

As a precautionary measure, the pilots decided to return to BIA and circled over the Chilaw airspace to burn excess fuel. The aircraft landed safely at Katunayake at around 12.30 a.m.

Emergency response proc...