Is there no one on this site from SIA? Even after a week there is no insider info?
Typical Singapore. No one wants their tiny state name to be tarnished --understandable. We have wait for the final smudged report. Few points to note as I have raised before on this thread.
1. Crew appears to have kept the engine running during their fly back to base, not aware of the massive fuel leak. They could have even reversed the engine on landing and the air flow turbulence could have spread the fuel along the wing.
3. Hydraulic fluid rarely catch fire like this. There are no hydraulic lines in the wing leading edge any way. Even if that was Hyd fluid, there is only about 30 Gal. that can leak out any way. So it was more like a massive fuel leak & fire.
4. I doubt if the crew had declared an emergency landing. My observation is from the fire tenders driving from the tarmac to the runway. If it was a declared emergency, they normally wait on the edge of the runway in a taxiway at mid point and end of runway for quick access to the aircraft. Seconds count in such incidents. Still their action was quick compared to the Okinawa video where they took five minutes to get there though the aircraft was parked in front of the terminal.
5. The calmness inside the cabin and smiling stewardess are unbelievable. A slight wind direction change could have melted the acrylic window pane in no time and fire could have spread inside the cabin in a flash. (Remember Manchester)
6. God was on the side of SQ and the Pax this time.