An engine problem on a Singapore Airlines A380 was a “non-event” in technical terms, according to the chief executive of the company that built it.

A Singapore Airlines flight carrying 444 passengers from Paris to Singapore was forced to return to France on Sunday when a problem was detected two and a half hours into the flight. However, Louis Gallois, the CEO of Airbus manufacturer EADS, called the incident “a complete non-event”.

“Engine failure on a four-engine aircraft does happen and nobody should think of it as a drama,”, the Airbus chief explained to the press. “In technical terms, it is not an event”. “This airplane would have been able to reach its destination with three engines out of four with no difficulty.”

Singapore Airlines (SIA) is the launch customer for the A380, having ordered 19 with an option for six more.

Singapore Airlines and Rolls-Royce, the British manufacturer of the engines, both said they were investigating.