SIA flight catches fire while making emergency landing in Singapore
Flight SQ368 was forced to turn back to Singapore after a fuel leak, passengers said. The right wing of the plane caught fire after it landed in Singapore early Monday morning.
The right wing of SQ368 caught fire after landing at Changi Airport on Monday morning (Jun 27). (Photo: Douglas Yew)
SINGAPORE: A Singapore Airlines (SIA) flight to Milan caught fire early on Monday morning (Jun 27) while making an emergency landing in Singapore, but all passengers on board escaped unharmed.
Flight SQ368 departed Changi Airport for Milan at 2.05am on Monday. The flight was forced to turn back to Singapore after an engine oil warning message, SIA said in a statement.
The plane's right engine caught fire after the aircraft, a Boeing 777-300ER, touched down at the airport at around 6.50am, SIA said. Firefighters put out the fire and there were no injuries to the 222 passengers and 19 crew members on board.
The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) also said in a statement on Monday evening that the fire was put out within five minutes. The runway on which the aircraft landed was then closed for about five hours for repairs and clean-up, CAAS said. Landings and take-offs continued on Changi Airport's other runway.
"Whilst some flights were impacted, all flights were able to take off within one hour of their scheduled departure times," CAAS stated.
The authority said it will be investigating to determine the causes of the incident. The Ministry of Transport's Air Accident Investigation Bureau will also conduct an independent investigation.
Passengers told Channel NewsAsia that the flight turned back nearly two hours after taking off due to a fuel leak.
Ms Lee Bee Yee, who was on board the flight with her husband, said there was a strong smell of fuel on the plane.
“The pilot said he was going to turn back because the engine is leaking oil on the right side. The captain said that they cannot turn on that side of the engine or else the plane will be vibrating. And they can’t fly like this to Milan…That’s why they turned back,” she said.
“We were sleeping and didn’t think too much about it,” she added.
Mrs Mamta Jain, whose husband Amit Jain was on board the flight, told Channel NewsAsia that the right wing of the plane burst into flames after the plane landed.
"When they landed, he said the engine was on fire and he could see flames. They were all inside the plane and they could see the right wing burning," she said.
Ms Lee said she and the other passengers were frightened. “I stood up, ready to run. But the announcement said to stay calm and to stay in your seats. Passengers were frightened, (but there was) no shouting and everyone was seated.”
Three passengers opted not to board the alternative flight, an SIA spokesperson said. "We have been in touch with our customers to provide assistance with their travel plans and have offered them the option to defer their travel."
Ms Lee said she decided to defer her flight, and to "go home and hug her kids”. SIA’s handling of the whole process was “very smooth, very good”, she added.
The airline said it will be cooperating with the authorities in their investigations.
Changi Airport issued a statement saying that the fire was extinguished "within minutes" by the Airport Emergency Service team, which was already on standby.
On Sunday (Jul 3), it posted photos of the team on its Facebook page, commending them on a "job well done".
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said on Monday afternoon on Facebook that he is "relieved that all onboard were safely disembarked". He said Singapore Airlines and the CAAS are investigating and "will get to the bottom of the matter".
Mr Lee also thanked Singapore Airlines and Changi Airport for the "swift response" following the incident.
Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan said in a Facebook post that he was "relieved" to learn about the plane's safe landing at Changi Airport.
"Incident is being investigated, as to the cause and whether any of our procedures can be improved further. Fortunately, all crew and passengers are safe," he said.
SIA's only accident resulting in casualties was a flight from Singapore to Los Angeles via Taipei, where it crashed on Oct 31, 2000, into construction equipment on the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport after attempting to take off from the wrong runway. The crash killed 83 of the 179 people on board.
