Dual-engine power loss - SIA A330-300 - Curt Lewis

Weather remains central to SIA A330 power-loss probe

Investigators are concentrating on weather-avoidance procedures as they continue to probe a dual-engine power-loss incident involving a Singapore Airlines Airbus A330-300 last year.

The Singaporean air accident investigation authority says a report into the event, over the South China Sea on 23 May 2015, is still being drafted.

It says the aircraft encountered "adverse weather" while en route to Shanghai, but has not detailed its nature.

The authority's update on the circumstances contradicts a previous disclosure, via French counterpart BEA, regarding the power loss sequence.

While BEA had stated that the left-hand Rolls-Royce Trent 700 engine had stalled, before self-recovering, the Singaporean authority says this event occurred in the right-hand engine, according to the crew's electronic centralised monitoring system.

The Singaporean inquiry says the system then informed the crew that the left-hand engine had stalled, and the pilots - having consulted the checklist - determined that this engine needed to be shut down.

BEA had stated that the aircraft was cruising at 39,000ft at the time, and the Singaporean probe says the crew carried out a controlled descent to 26,000ft before managing to restart the left-hand engine.

"The flight then continued, with both engines running normally, to Shanghai," says the inquiry.

It adds that en route weather and weather-avoidance procedures are among the areas on which the investigators are focusing, along with the crew's actions and the Airbus electronic centralised monitoring system.