Singapore Airlines plane veers off Yangon runway, no injuries

SINGAPORE, May 22, 2014 (AFP) - A Singapore Airlines plane skidded off the runway on touching down during heavy rain at Myanmar's Yangon International Airport, but no injuries were reported, the carrier said Thursday.

The Airbus A330 plane "encountered heavy rain and veered slightly off the runway on landing" Wednesday, scheduled for 9:20 am (0250 GMT), before it was steered safely back, the airline said in a statement.

"The aircraft was towed to the gate and customers disembarked normally," the airline said in a statement, adding that a replacement plane was sent to Yangon for the return flight.

The plane, flight SQ998 on a daily route to Myanmar, was carrying 265 passengers and crew, the airline told AFP.

On May 9, an Airbus A380 superjumbo operated by the airline on a flight to Hong Kong was forced to turn back to Singapore after pilots received a warning about a problem with a cargo door.

In January, one of the airline's A380 fleet was forced to make an emergency landing in Azerbaijan after suffering a drop in cabin pressure. The flag-carrier subsequently said its investigation into the incident focused on a main deck door that appeared to have suffered a leak.

Singapore Airlines has 19 A380s with five others on order, operating on routes from Singapore to various destinations including Hong Kong, Frankfurt, London and Los Angeles. - AFP