Singapore Airlines Airbus plunges 13,000 feet as both engines fail in bad weather

Passengers received a scare when a Singapore Airlines Airbus A330-300 dropped 13,000ft after both of its engines failed in mid-air on a recent flight.

As the  plane made an unexpected descent the pilots followed ‘operational procedures’ and managed to restore power to both Rolls-Royce Trent 772 engines, Singapore Airlines said in a statement.

Flight SQ836 was carrying 182 passengers and 12 crew members, when the jet engines lost power 3.5 hours into Saturday’s 5 hour flight.

The pilot said:

'Both engines experienced a temporary loss of power, although one engine returned to normal operations almost immediately.

'The pilots followed operational procedures to restore normal operation of the second engine by putting the aircraft into a controlled descent, before climbing again.

'The flight continued normally to Shanghai and touched down uneventfully at 10:56pm local time. 

Singapore Airlines said no ‘anomalies’ were detected in either of the engines when they were 'thoroughly inspected and tested' upon arrival in Shanghai, and that it is investigating the incident with Rolls-Royce and Airbus. 

Data from FlightRadar24.com and a report in the Aviation Herald revealed the plane was cruising at 39,000ft over the South China Sea, about 162 miles from Hong Kong, when it ran into trouble.

The plane dropped to 26,000ft before power was restored, and climbed back to 31,200ft before it made its normal descent and landed safely in Shanghai about one hour and 40 minutes later, the report said.

The plane later took off to return to Singapore after a two-hour delay, the Aviation Herald reported.

The Air Accident Investigation Bureau of Singapore said it has been informed and is taking the lead on the investigation.