Superjumbo's engine fails

Superjumbo's engine fails
2009-09-28 09:38

Singapore - A Singapore Airlines plane carrying 444 passengers from Paris to Singapore was forced to return to the French capital at the weekend because of engine problems, the carrier said on Monday.

The problem on the Airbus A380 jet was detected around two and a half hours into flight SQ333 out of Paris on Sunday afternoon, it said.

"An engine message was reported in the cockpit and following checklist procedures, the affected engine was shut down," an airline spokesperson told AFP.

"While the aircraft is able to operate with three engines, the pilots decided to return to Paris as a precaution due to the long flight."

It said the plane was set to undergo an engine change in Paris and that stranded passengers would be put on other flights.

Singapore Airlines was the first carrier to use the A380. It flies the world's biggest passenger jet from its home base in Singapore to Melbourne, Sydney, London, Tokyo and Hong Kong, as well as Paris.

The so-called superjumbo can carry up to 853 passengers but Singapore Airlines has chosen a setup with a maximum 471 seats.