Russian investigators are probing an engine fire involving an Airbus A321neo which occurred as the aircraft was preparing to depart Novosibirsk.
The twinjet – fitted with Pratt & Whitney PW1100G powerplants – had been operating the S75783 service to the Vietnamese resort of Cam Ranh at about 01:30 on 18 January.
Russia’s federal Investigative Committee’s West Siberian transport division states that preliminary information indicates that an “ignition of accumulated aviation fuel” occurred as the parked aircraft’s engines started.
Exhaust gas temperature sensors were triggered, it adds, and the crew activated the engine’s fire-extinguishing system.
None of the 180 passengers and five crew members was injured, and those on board disembarked normally. The captain chose to cancel the flight.
Circumstances of the incident are being assessed, says the Investigative Committee.
