Singapore Airlines plane plunges 13,000ft after both engines lose power during storm

An investigation has been launched into what caused the power failure

Singapore Airlines has launched an investigation (AFP/Getty Images)

A Singapore Airlines plane with 194 people on board plunged 13,000ft after both of its engines lost power while flying through a storm on Saturday.

The Airbus A330-300 was travelling from Singapore to Shanghai when it hit stormy weather over the South China Sea.

A spokesperson for the airline said both engines cut out around three-and-a-half hours into the flight, sending it into a rapid descent from 39,000ft.

Data on Flightradar24.com showed it drop to 26,000ft before power could be restored, disappearing from the website’s tracker for more than half an hour because of the blackout.

A post on Twitter said the plane was flying through a “huge storm” at the time near the southern tip of Taiwan.

Flight SQ836 then climbed safely back to 31,200ft before landing safely in Shanghai around 1 hour and 40 minutes later.

Singapore Airlines has launched an investigation into the incident and is reviewing it with plane manufacturer Airbus and Rolls-Royce, which made the Trent 772 engines.

“Both engines experienced a temporary loss of power and the pilots followed operational procedures to restore normal operation of the engines,” spokesperson said.

“The flight continued to Shanghai and touched down uneventfully at 10.56pm local time.”

The plane’s engines “were thoroughly inspected and tested upon arrival in Shanghai with no anomalies detected” and it later took off to return to Singapore after a reported two-hour delay.

Singapore Airlines, the national flag carrier, flies to 62 destinations in 35 countries, including the UK.

Additional reporting by AP