A flight arriving in Singapore’s Changi Airport caught on fire as it was landing, according to the airline on Monday (local time).
The right engine of the Boeing 777, flying from Changi to Milan, Italy, burst into flames after it returned to the airport. The plane had returned after an engine oil warning message came on, Singapore Airlines said in a statement.
After the aircraft touched down at around 6:50 a.m., the fire was extinguished by emergency services. There were no injuries to the 222 passengers and 19 crew members on board the plane, the statement read.
Photos and videos uploaded to social media show bright flames covering the wing of the plane.
“We were so close to death!! I am still in the plane with all passengers. But I think we are safe for now,” one passenger, who captured the video, wrote on Facebook. “It was a heart wrenching 5 mins! Waiting for the fire engine and fire fighters to put out the fire! They shot foam and water into the fire and eventually it was put out,” she added.
Passengers exited the plane via the stairs and were taken to the airport terminal building via bus. They will be transferred to another aircraft that is expected to depart to Milan later on Monday, the statement read.
“The affected aircraft has been towed away and the clean-up of Runway 2 is underway,” read a statement from Changi Airport, adding that when the plane landed, “it was extinguished within minutes by the Airport Emergency Service team which was already on standby.”
Some other flights were impacted, the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore said in a statement.
“Landings and take-offs continued on the other runway. Whilst some flights were impacted, all flights were able to take off within one hour of their scheduled departure times,” it said.
The aviation authority said it will investigate the cause of the fire, but it may take months.
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