CAAS finds shortcomings in SIA jet's 2022 unplanned landing with very low fuel levels

Investigations into a 2022 incident where a Singapore Airlines plane made an unscheduled landing in Batam with critically low levels of fuel found that those involved could have handled the situation better.

- Kok Yufeng

Flight SQ319, which was heading to Singapore from London on Oct 25, 2022, was diverted from Changi Airport due to bad weather at the time.

An investigation report on the incident said the flight crew appeared to prefer landing in Changi, even though an earlier diversion would have allowed them to land in Batam under better conditions.

The weather over Batam later deteriorated, forcing the pilots who had already declared a fuel emergency to abort their initial approach.

One of the pilots then tried to perform an automated landing from the other direction and was startled by a message from his flight display saying that he was not permitted to do so.

The pilots also did not realise that they had failed to contact the air traffic control tower in Batam, and did not get clearance to land on one of their initial attempts. The plane landed only on their fourth try.

There were 280 people on board, according to the incident report by the Transport Safety Investigation Bureau (TSIB) published on Sept 25. No one was injured, and there was no damage to the Boeing 777-300ER aircraft.

On Saturday, in response to queries, the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) said there were shortcomings in the way that the flight diversion was handled.

However, there were no regulatory breaches by SIA, said Mr Alan Foo, senior director of the safety regulation group at CAAS.

According to CAAS safety regulations, which apply to any aircraft operated by a Singapore operator, a flight must be planned such that it is able to land at its destination with a certain amount of fuel left.

Called "final reserve fuel", or FRF, this is the absolute minimum required for an aircraft to remain airborne safely, in case of delays.

The pilot in command must monitor fuel levels throughout the flight and take appropriate action, such as adjusting the flight route, if the FRF may be depleted.