Investigators, air passengers and airplane buffs are trying to solve an in-flight mystery today: how did a twin-engine jet airliner with 194 people aboard lose both of its engines mid-flight this past weekend?
Singapore Airlines confirms to Yahoo Travel that its Flight 836, an Airbus A330-300, lost power in both engines Saturday on a flight from Singapore to Shanghai, China. The plane was cruising at 39,000 feet and had encountered “bad weather” when the incident occurred.
“Both engines experienced a temporary loss of power and the pilots followed operational procedures to restore normal operation of the engines,” Singapore Airlines tells Yahoo Travel in a statement. “The flight continued to Shanghai and touched down uneventfully at 10:56 p.m. local time.”
“Both engines experienced a temporary loss of power and the pilots followed operational procedures to restore normal operation of the engines,” Singapore Airlines tells Yahoo Travel in a statement. “The flight continued to Shanghai and touched down uneventfully at 10:56 p.m. local time.”
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The airline didn’t say how long it took the pilots to restore the engines. But according to the flight tracking siteFlightradar24, the incident happened off the coast of Hong Kong sometime between 8:46 p.m. and 9:11 p.m. local time. Within that time period, Flightradar24 shows Flight 836 descending almost 13,000 feet to an altitude of 26,600 feet. That could be when the plane lost engine power.
Flight 836 didn’t start climbing again until a few minutes later (presumably after the crew restarted the engines), at 9:16 p.m. local time, landing a little more than 90 minutes later.
The airline didn’t say how long it took the pilots to restore the engines. But according to the flight tracking siteFlightradar24, the incident happened off the coast of Hong Kong sometime between 8:46 p.m. and 9:11 p.m. local time. Within that time period, Flightradar24 shows Flight 836 descending almost 13,000 feet to an altitude of 26,600 feet. That could be when the plane lost engine power.
Flight 836 didn’t start climbing again until a few minutes later (presumably after the crew restarted the engines), at 9:16 p.m. local time, landing a little more than 90 minutes later.
According to Flightradar24 data, the Singapore Airlines flight appears to have run into trouble just off the coast of Hong Kong, when it descended from its cruising altitude 39,000 to 26,600 feet. (Photo: Flightradar24)
Right now, Singapore Airlines is not offering any theories as to what went wrong. “The engines were thoroughly inspected and tested upon arrival in Shanghai with no anomalies detected,” Singapore Airlines tells Yahoo Travel.
“There are a lot of safeguards in place, so it’s very rare that a double engine failure could happen,” says Kyle Bailey — an aviation safety analyst, pilot, and FAA Safety Team representative. One possible explanation, Bailey notes, may lie in Singapore Airlines’ mention of “bad weather” during the flight.
Right now, Singapore Airlines is not offering any theories as to what went wrong. “The engines were thoroughly inspected and tested upon arrival in Shanghai with no anomalies detected,” Singapore Airlines tells Yahoo Travel.
“There are a lot of safeguards in place, so it’s very rare that a double engine failure could happen,” says Kyle Bailey — an aviation safety analyst, pilot, and FAA Safety Team representative. One possible explanation, Bailey notes, may lie in Singapore Airlines’ mention of “bad weather” during the flight.
