Fire extinguishers deployed on Singapore Airlines Airbus A380: smoking wiring

UPDATE 3rd February | Singapore Airlines has issued an updated statement today. See our followup story: "There was no fire" on A380, Singapore Airlines insists.

A Singapore Airlines A380 crew set off an emergency fire extinguisher system after smoke was reported in a toilet on a flight from Hong Kong to Singapore.

The superjumbo, reported to be the eighth plane manufactured and Singapore's fourth aircraft, landed safely after the incident. There were no reports of injuries among passengers or crew. Scorched wiring was later discovered in the forward cargo hold of the A380.

Australian Business Traveller spoke to a Singapore Airlines spokesperson this afternoon, who told us:

"The crew of a Singapore Airlines Airbus A380 operating to Singapore from Hong Kong on 31 January reported smells of smoke in a lavatory while the aircraft was on its descent. As a precaution a halon extinguisher was discharged by the crew. The aircraft landed without incident at Singapore."

The spokesperson continued: "Ground crews later found signs of burns to electrical wiring in the forward cargo hold. Singapore Airlines and Airbus are currently carrying out an investigation."

While not a serious emergency, Airbus and airlines must be concerned about the latest in a series of problems with the A380.

Qantas still has no schedule for repairing the A380 that was damaged when a Rolls-Royce engine exploded while taking off from Singapore last November. Qantas was only able to return the A380 to its trans-Pacific routes to Los Angeles from Sydney and Melbourne in January this year.

Major Airbus rival Boeing won't take much consolation in this, though: its own newest aircraft, the 787, had to be evacuated via the emergency slides in Laredo, Texas after an electrical panel caught on fire. The 787 fire forced the entire 787 test fleet to be grounded, with the last test plane returning to duty just yesterday.

John Walton

Aviation journalist and travel columnist John took his first long-haul flight when he was eight weeks old and hasn't looked back since. Well, except when facing rearwards in business class.