What We Know About Singapore Airlines’ Flight SQ368

by Filip in Aviation News

Changi Airport, Singapore — As day rolled into Southern Asia, traffic at Changi Airport seemed usual. Passengers sat next to their gates onlooking aircraft traffic through the large panoramic windows. Suddenly, an approaching Boeing 777-300ER touches down on the runway. Its right engine bursts into flames, soon inflating the remainder of the wing. Concerned passengers soon took to social media and expressed their worries and even shared media of the flaming plane.

The 10 year old aircraft, delivered to Singapore Airlines in November 2006, took off from Changi Airport at approximately 2:05am local time for Milan. Two hours into the flight (about 3:50am local time), the flight crew received “engine oil warning” messages and discovered the plane’s right General Electric GE90 engine was leaking oil. The captain turned the plane around back to Singapore and shut the engine off.

Map

SQ368 before its captain decides to turn the plane around.

According to passengers on the plane, there was no panic throughout the return to Singapore in the air. At 6:50pm local time, flight SQ368 was on its final approach into the airport. Emergency teams were already on standby, waiting on the sides of the runway preparing for the worst. Upon touchdown, the plane’s right engine engulfed in flames, also setting the right wing on fire. Passengers were not evacuated after the plane stopped, but told to stay seated until the fire was extinguished. All 222 passengers and 19 crew members were not injured during the  entire incident.

The fire was out within minutes after the landing. About 15-20 minutes later, passengers were allowed to leave the plane, to be greeted by the fire crew and other emergency airport staff. Some passengers shared their experiences to social media:

 

…it was the longest 5-10 minutes of my life. — Loo Cheng Chuan, SQ368 Passenger

SQ368 right wing & engine engulfed in flames shortly after touchdown.

SQ368 right wing & engine engulfed in flames shortly after touchdown.

I just escaped death!!! […] I thank God I am alive. I going home to hug my kids! — Lee Bee Yee, SQ368 Passenger

Lee Bee Yee deboarding the now-extinguished plane.

Lee Bee Yee deboarding the now-extinguished plane.

Video of emergency crews frantically putting out the inflamed engine and wing:

[fbvideo link=”https://www.facebook.com/Transfusionsailing/videos/1164056693655595/” width=”300″ height=”200″ onlyvideo=”0 or 1″]

Shortly following the incident, the plane was towed away for inspection, and the runway remained shut down for five hours for cleaning and inspection. It is now fully operational. The airline has issued official statements on the incident and its upcoming investigation:

Special thanks to our author, Albert Lua, for being the first member of our team to bring this incident to our attention.

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