The engine of an Airbus A380 belonging to the South Korean carrier Asiana Airlines caught fire during refueling in Seoul airport on October 18, 2019. The incident caused no injury.
The superjumbo, registered HL7652, was at its gate to carry out flight OZ202 from Seoul Incheon Airport (ICN), South Korea, to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), the United States. During the start-up test, smoke and sparks occurred in the Rolls Royce Trent 970 engine #1, which then caught fire. The airport emergency services were dispatched immediately and put out the fire.
At the time, none of the 401 passengers had boarded the jet yet. Another A380 (HL7634) was chartered as a replacement and took off four hours after the planned departure.
Engine one of an Asiana Airbus A380 was seen caught fire during fueling at Seoul International Airport.
Video via weibo.pic.twitter.com/D2SA3PzUct
— air plus news (english) (@airplusnews_EN) October 18, 2019
Asiana Airlines is South Korea’s second-largest airline. It has a fleet of six A380 aircraft with an average age of 4.6 years.
On October 17, 2019, South Korea’s Supreme Court confirmed a government decision to temporarily suspend Asiana’s Incheon (ICN) – San Francisco (SFO) route as a penalty over the crash of Flight 214 on July 6, 2013, that was caused by the pilots’ misjudgment, resulting from insufficient training.