Changi Airport announced in their Facebook that a Singapore Airlines flight (SQ 368) bound for Milan returned to Changi Airport at about 6.50 am this morning (27 June) due to an engine oil warning message. The flight had departed from Changi earlier at about 2.25 am.
“When the aircraft landed at Changi Airport Runway 2, the engine caught fire but it was extinguished within minutes by the Airport Emergency Service team which was already on standby,” said the Airport’s social media manager.
All passengers and crew on board disembarked safely, and no injuries were reported.
TODAY newspaper reported that some passengers were initially alarmed, but that the captain and the crew managed to calm them down. One passenger told the newspaper how dumb some passengers on the flight were.
44-year-old Amit Jain, the director of IT and enterprise resource planning at a multinational company said:
“When we could see the flames rising, some people were trying to remove their bags from the overhead compartments, which was crazy. I heard a few people scream ‘Open the doors!’ and ‘Let us out!’ and they were standing in the aisle. I had to tell a lady, ‘if I had to run out I’m going to have to kick your bag out of the way’.”
These passengers were probably not paying much attention to the pre-flight safety announcement. Most flights have an announcement like this before the flight takes off.
“Ladies and gentlemen, on behalf of the crew I ask that you please direct your attention to the monitors above as we review the emergency procedures. There are six emergency exits on this aircraft. Take a minute to locate the exit closest to you. Note that the nearest exit may be behind you. Count the number of rows to this exit. Should the cabin experience sudden pressure loss, stay calm and listen for instructions from the cabin crew. Oxygen masks will drop down from above your seat. Place the mask over your mouth and nose, like this. Pull the strap to tighten it. If you are traveling with children, make sure that your own mask is on first before helping your children. In the unlikely event of an emergency landing and evacuation, leave your carry-on items behind. Life rafts are located below your seats and emergency lighting will lead you to your closest exit and slide. We ask that you make sure that all carry-on luggage is stowed away safely during the flight. While we wait for take off, please take a moment to review the safety data card in the seat pocket in front of you.”
In case you missed it:
“In the unlikely event of an emergency landing and evacuation, leave your carry-on items behind.”
And this is what Patrick Smith an active airlines pilot had to say about such passengers in his blog, ‘Ask the Pilot‘:
“I cannot overemphasize how appallingly unsafe this is. Luggage slows people down and severely impedes their access to the aisles and exits, and it turns the escape slides into a deadly slalom. This time it’s particularly striking, because while most evacuations are precautionary, this one was a full-blown emergency. The airplane was on fire. If that isn’t reason enough to leave your things and get the fuck off the plane as quickly as you can, then heaven help you.”