10-9-2023 (SINGAPORE) Singapore’s Changi Airport experienced a temporary disruption on Sunday (Sep 10) when a runway was closed for approximately three hours due to a fire onboard an Air China flight en route from Chengdu, China. The incident resulted in the diversion of the aircraft.
The affected flight, CA403, encountered smoke in the forward cargo hold and lavatory at around 4pm, as confirmed by the airport in a Facebook post. In response, the flight promptly declared an emergency and requested priority landing. The request was granted, allowing the plane to safely touch down on Runway 3 at approximately 4.15pm.
Air China A320neo evacuated on the runway at Singapore after the engine caught fire on approach to the airport. pic.twitter.com/6uorjdZQMI
— Breaking Aviation News & Videos (@aviationbrk) September 10, 2023
All 146 passengers and nine crew members on board were evacuated without any harm via the aircraft’s emergency slides. They were then transported by bus to the terminal, according to the authorities.
Around ten minutes after the evacuation, at approximately 4.25pm, the Airport Emergency Services successfully extinguished a fire that had erupted in the left engine of the aircraft.
The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) reported that nine passengers suffered minor injuries, including smoke inhalation and abrasions during the evacuation process. However, they have since received medical attention.
The aircraft was subsequently towed away at around 6pm, and the temporarily closed runway, one of three at Changi Airport, reopened shortly after 7pm following thorough inspections.
During the runway closure period, one aircraft was diverted to Batam, Indonesia, according to CAAS.
Changi Airport initially cautioned that flight operations might be affected and advised passengers to refer to its website or app for the latest updates regarding their flights.
Air China and Changi Airport Group are providing assistance to the passengers and crew of flight CA403. Meanwhile, Singapore’s Transport Safety Investigation Bureau has initiated an investigation into the incident and has reached out to its Chinese counterpart for further support.
This incident follows a similar occurrence in January of this year when a Scoot flight had to return to the gate due to a fire caused by a power bank, resulting in injuries to two passengers.
Air China Flight CA403 from Chengdu declared an emergency shortly before landing in Singapore.
The plane was evacuated on the runway following heavy smoke in the cabin due to an engine fire…@RadarBoxCom
— Flight Emergency (@FlightEmergency) September 10, 2023
