Passengers 222 Survivors 241 (all) Date 27 June 2016 Crew count 19 Operator Singapore Airlines | Fatalities 0 Aircraft type Boeing 777-312ER Number of deaths 0 Injuries (nonfatal) 0 Location Singapore Changi Airport | |
Summary Aircraft fire following oil leak Site Singapore Changi Airport, Changi, Singapore Similar Tara Air Flight 193, 2016 Silk Way Airlines A, 2016 True Aviation An‑26 cra, West Air Sweden Flight 294, Korean Air Flight 2708 | ||
Singapore Airlines Flight 368 (SQ368) was a scheduled international passenger flight from Singapore Changi Airport to Milan–Malpensa Airport in Italy. On 27 June 2016 the Boeing 777-300ER operating the flight turned back to Singapore after an engine oil warning. After the aircraft landed back at Changi Airport the affected engine caught fire, seriously damaging the 777's wing. There were no injuries among the 241 passengers and crew on board.
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Aircraft
The aircraft involved in the incident was a Boeing 777-312ER, registered as 9V-SWB, bearing the manufacturing serial number (MSN) of 33377. At the time of the incident, the aircraft was nine years old, having been delivered new to Singapore Airlines in November 2006.
Flight and engine failure
The flight took off at 2:05 SST on 27 June 2016. When the 777 was about two hours into the flight, the right (#2) engine, a General Electric GE90-115B, experienced an oil leak, according to the flight's captain. The crew decided to return the aircraft to Changi Airport where it touched down safely at around 6:50 SST. As the aircraft was slowing down on the runway, a spark was seen, and the right engine caught fire, eventually leading to the right wing becoming engulfed in flames. A Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) spokesman said that airport fire services extinguished the fire in five minutes. There were no injuries, but the aircraft sustained serious fire damage to the right wing.
Investigation
The Air Accident Investigation Bureau of Singapore (AAIB) is responsible for investigating aviation accidents in Singapore and opened an investigation into the occurrence. The AAIB's investigation found that the right engine's oil system was contaminated with fuel due to a crack in the engine’s main fuel oil heat exchanger (MFOHE). The engine's manufacturer General Electric had already identified that certain MFOHEs were cracking and instructed that they be removed from the engines and inspected then repaired if necessary. The Service Bulletin issued by General Electric detailing the inspection and repair recommended that the inspection of the MFOHE be done the next time the engine was sent to a workshop for maintenance. In the case of the engine that failed, the most recent time it had gone to a workshop was March 2014, several months before the bulletin had been issued.