Air China Flight Evacuated At Changi Airport Due To Fire
There are many undesirable situations you would not want to encounter on a plane, such as a nasty bout of diarrhoea. Your plane’s engine catching fire mid-air is probably one of the more common nightmare scenarios, however.
On 10 Sep, Air China flight CA403 flying from Chengdu, China, saw its engine burst aflame. Smoke began filling up the plane.
The aeroplane made an emergency landing at Changi Airport at 4.15pm. Changi Airport temporarily closed the runway and extinguished the fire.
Airport staff evacuated all passengers, with nine suffering minor injuries.
Source: FATIII on Weibo
Smoke fills plane on Air China flight
Yesterday (10 Sep), Air China Flight CA403 from Chengdu to Singapore encountered a fiery emergency in the last leg of the flight.
Changi Airport reported that the plane requested an emergency landing at 3.59pm.
According to The Straits Times (ST), passengers noticed a pungent burning smell. The cabin crew consequently instructed them to cover their noses with wet cloths.
Source: ChinaAviationReview on X
The plane’s left engine had burst into flame mid-air. A white smoke began to fill the cargo hold and cabin shortly after, but passengers remained calm.
Source: FATIII on Weibo
The plane declared an emergency and requested a priority landing at Changi Airport, which was granted.
CA403 successfully landed on Runway 3 at about 4.15pm.
Passengers evacuated by slides
Passengers then evacuated swiftly from the aeroplane via the emergency slides. An Airport Emergency Service (AES) vehicle drives by them on the tarmac.
Source: ChinaAviationReview on X.
One passenger brought his luggage along, very nearly colliding it into a fellow passenger’s head on the slide.
We don’t recommend bringing your luggage along with you when making an emergency exit.
Changi Airport personnel subsequently ferried the 146 passengers and nine crew to the nearby terminal. Nine passengers suffered minor smoke inhalation injuries and abrasions and were attended to accordingly.
The AES arrived soon after and extinguished the left engine’s fire at around 4.25pm. The airport towed the damaged aircraft away at 6pm, and Runway 3 eventually reopened at around 7pm.
According to Changi Airport on Facebook, the Transport Safety Investigation Bureau is presently investigating the incident with its Chinese counterpart.
Have news you must share? Get in touch with us via email at news@mustsharenews.com.
Featured image adapted from FATIII on Weibo.
