A380 Incident Update

Well, they made it 3 months and about 15 days incident free! And now they have a new one coming which is scheduled to arrive on 12 Jan. in Singapore. This incident occurred at the new Terminal 3, when I read the story initially, I was trying to figure out where exactly this happened as I don't think this would have occurred at the old gate at all.

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/322056/1/.html

Singapore Airlines receives second A380 aircraft
By Valerie Tan, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 11 January 2008 2159 hrs

SINGAPORE: Singapore Airlines has received its second A380, the world's largest passenger plane.

The aircraft was handed to SIA in France on Friday morning and is expected to land in Singapore on 12 January at 9am.

The news comes a day after SIA's first A380 slipped off the tarmac onto a grass verge at Changi Airport, Terminal 3.

No one was injured.

According to Singapore Airlines, a tow truck was pulling the plane forward to a take-off position, when it suddenly disconnected from the plane.

The Sydney-bound flight, carrying 446 passengers, then continued to move forward and its front wheels rolled onto a nearby grass verge. All the passengers were asked to disembark.

Three quarters of them were put on a replacement flight out of Singapore on a Boeing 747, about 4 hours later.

The plane was then lifted out of the grass verge after midnight.

SIA said after rounds of checks, the A380 was given the green-light to resume its flight schedule to Sydney on Friday at 10.30pm.

A handful stayed overnight in Singapore before flying out the next day.

But not everyone was satisfied with the arrangements made.

A caller to the MediaCorp News Hotline said his daughter was on board the plane when the incident happened. And he claimed that there had been "miscommunication" between the airline and the passengers.

He added that the incident has left a "poor impression" on him, about the newly-opened Terminal 3.

In response, Singapore Airlines did not say how or when it will compensate affected passengers.

But the airline promised to "provide a reasonable compensation". -CNA/vm