Singapore Airlines jet catches fire after emergency return to Changi Airport

Singapore Airlines said a jet carrying 241 passengers and crew caught fire while landing at the city’s Changi Airport Monday morning after aborting a trip to Milan due to an engine-oil warning message.

The aircraft’s right engine caught fire after the jet touched down at about 6.50am local time, the airline said in an e-mailed statement. Emergency crew rushed to put out the fire on the Boeing 777-300ER aircraft and there were no injuries to the 222 passengers and 19 crew on board, the airline said. SQ368 was on a flight to Milan from Singapore.

“Passengers disembarked through stairs and were transported to the terminal building by bus,” the airline said. “Singapore Airlines will be co-operating fully with the authorities in their investigations.”

Plane engine fires are rare and the Boeing 777 is one of the safest aircraft in the world, with only five of them having suffered irreparable damage since introduction in 1993, according to Aviation Safety Network. The twin-aisle jet has two engines.

Boeing is “aware of the situation and gathering information,” the Chicago-based aircraft maker said in an e-mailed response to a query, without elaborating. The airline said an assessment of the damage will need to be carried out and said it had no further information to provide immediately.