SINGAPORE - A Singapore Airlines (SIA) plane that was forced to return to Singapore due to an engine fault, caught fire shortly after it landed at Changi Airport on Monday (June 27) morning.

There were no injuries but travellers booked on other early morning flights faced some delays, as Runway 2 where the plane landed was closed for about five hours following the incident.

Flight SQ368 with 222 passengers and 19 crew on board, departed Changi Airport Terminal 3 for Milan, Italy, at around 2.05am on Monday.

About three hours into the flight, the Boeing 777-300ER aircraft was forced to turn back after the pilot received an engine oil warning message.

One of the plane's passengers, Ms Lee Bee Yee, 43, said she detected a faint whiff of what smelled like gasoline about two or three hours into the flight.

"We were informed by the pilot that there was a leak, and that the plane would have to return to Changi Airport as it did not have enough fuel for the journey," said Ms Lee, who runs an e-commerce company.

According to Ms Lee, the plane touched down safely at Changi Airport at around 6.45am to cheers and clapping from the passengers. Shortly after the landing, however, the plane's right wing caught fire.

"The blaze was quite fierce and we waited for around two to three minutes before the fire engines arrived," she said.

"Surprisingly, all the passengers were quite calm. The SQ crew was very professional in calming everyone down."



Passengers on flight SQ368 were calm despite the plane having caught fire on the runway at Changi Airport on Monday (June 27) morning. PHOTO: LEE BEE YEE



SIA said the right engine of the plane caught fire after the plane landed at Changi airport at 6.50am, with airport emergency services responding quickly to the fire.

The fire was extinguished in five minutes, said a CAAS spokesman.

Passengers then disembarked through stairs and were transported to the terminal building by bus.