What: Qantaslink Boeing 717-200 en route from Alice Springs to Darwin Where: Alice Springs When: Nov 16th 2010, 2:10 pm Who:115 passengers Why: Just after takeoff, the plane was struck by lightning. The plane returned to Alice Springs and made a safe landing. Operations were unaffected but here was minor damage to the plane’s exterior. Passengers were scheduled on an alternative flight with a six hour delay.
Warning: Trying to access array offset on value of type null in /home/airflight/www/www/wp-content/themes/fluida/includes/loop.php on line 270
What: Qantas Boeing 747-400 en route from Sydney Australia to Buenos Aires, Argentina Where: Sydney When: Nov 15th 2010 Who: 199 passengers, 21 crew Why: While en route, the plane developed smoke in the cockpit, according to Qantas, originating in the cockpit electronic display. The crew donned oxygen masks, and decided to return to Sydney. They dumped fuel, and landed safely–described by a passenger as a perfect landing.
The video interview of a passenger has his account of when the event, including when entertainment systems switched off, the second officer came through the cabin with an explanation; the captain explained later too, once they were on the ground. The passenger also makes a significant point about how the crew must be feeling about Qantas maintenance, and that possibly too many Qantas maintenance resources are being diverted to the A380 problem.
Passengers were scheduled on a flight with a 6 hour delay.
The interviewer says “The Qantas A380s are now being called 180s. They take off, go for ten minutes, make a 180 and go back where they started from.”
Rolls-Royce announced it will replace the A380 superjumbo engines with oil leaks in Qantas’s fleet.
Read more: http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2010/11/16/qantas-plane-makes-emergency-landing-after-cockpit-fills-with-smoke-115875-22720244/#ixzz15TQgHSrI
Go Camping for 95p! Vouchers collectable in the Daily and Sunday Mirror until 11th August . Click here for more information
Sydney, 15 November 2010
Qantas Flight 17 from Sydney to Buenos Aires today, operated by a Boeing 747, returned to Sydney after experiencing an issue with the aircraft’s electrical system.
The aircraft departed at 11:11am and landed safely back at Sydney Airport at 1:22pm. Priority clearance to land was gained from air traffic control, following procedure. There were 199 passengers, three flight crew and 18 cabin crew on board.
Engineers are inspecting the aircraft to determine the cause of the issue. Passengers have disembarked into the terminal building.
Reports that the aircraft lost pressure in the main cabin are incorrect. Oxygen supply to the cabin was unaffected.
The incident has been reported to the Civil Aviation Safety Authority and the Air Transport Safety Bureau.
The flight crew operating the service acted appropriately in line with their training and with Qantas’ safety-first approach. Qantas regrets the inconvenience to passengers and will seek to make contingency arrangements for those affected.
Further details will be released as they become available.
Issued by Qantas Corporate Communication
Warning: Trying to access array offset on value of type null in /home/airflight/www/www/wp-content/themes/fluida/includes/loop.php on line 270
What: Qantas Boeing 767-300 en route from Perth to Melbourne Where: Perth When: Nov 12th 2010 3.15 pm Who: 234 passengers Why: After takeoff, while still near Perth, the left engine (GE) began emitting abnormal vibrations. The engine was not shut down, but the pilots decided on a a routine turnback, and returned to Perth and made a safe landing. Passengers were booked on to alternative flights with up to a five hour delay. This Qantas Boeing incident has nothing to do with the Qantas incidents related to a flaw in Airbus A380 engines.
Warning: Trying to access array offset on value of type null in /home/airflight/www/www/wp-content/themes/fluida/includes/loop.php on line 270
What: Qantas Airbus A380-842 en route from Singapore (Singapore) to Sydney,NS Where: Singapore When: Nov 4th 2010 Who: 440 passengers and 26 crew Why: After taking off from Singapore, over Batam the engine exploded and began emitting smoke. The airplane took off at 9:57L, about 4 minutes later abnormal engine #2 indications occurred and the engine shut down at 10:01L. Debris fell in a district called Dutamas, including the Qantas logo, and a turbine falling through a house. The pilot dumped fuel and returned to make a safe landing in Singapore.
The Trent 900 engine has been subject to an EASA Airworthiness Directive. Maintenance determined that “the intermediate pressure turbine disk of engine #2 failed” and are checking for the directive’s warning (intermediate pressure shaft coupling splines requiring inspection for excessive wear) but they believe the engine failure is unrelated to the Directive.
The parts that fell in Batam have been quarantined. Australian accident investigators have downloaded the CVR and FDR. The Australian Transportation Safety Board preliminary report deadline is Dec 3 2010.
Warning: Trying to access array offset on value of type null in /home/airflight/www/www/wp-content/themes/fluida/includes/loop.php on line 270
What: Qantas Airways Ltd. Boeing 747 plane with Rolls-Royce Group PLC engines Friday made an emergency landing at Singapore’s Changi airport with flames and sparks flying out of the engine. 412 passengers 3 flight crew and 16 cabin crew
What: Qantas Airbus A380, bound for Sydney, had to return to Singapore after one of its four Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engine 2 suffered a midair explosion, caught fire , causing damage to the aircraft’s wing and leaving a debris trail.
Two Qantas engines failing. One Boeing. One Airbus. BOTH Rolls Royce engines.
Qantas published this press release:
Major Disruptions
Latest Update on Qantas Operations
Information last updated on 6 November 2010 at 3.30pm AEDT.
Qantas has made updates to its scheduled services on Saturday 6 November and Sunday 7 November due to the grounding of its Airbus A380 fleet.
Qantas services are scheduled as follows:
Today’s QF31 service (Sydney-Singapore), normally operated by an A380, will operate on an alternative aircraft, departing Sydney at 5:30pm local time. QF31 Singapore-London will operate on a British Airways aircraft.
QF11 (Sydney-Los Angeles) will now depart at 10:15pm on November 6.
QF8006 (Singapore-Sydney) will now depart at 7:00am local time on 7 November.
QF5 (Sydney-Singapore-Frankfurt) scheduled to depart on 6 November will now depart at 8:25am local time on 7 November.
QF21 (Sydney-Tokyo) scheduled to depart on 6 November will now depart at 9:30am local time on 7 November.
Qantas is contacting customers regarding these flight changes and regular updates will be made available on qantas.com.
Qantas has done everything possible to assist customers in Singapore who have been provided with overnight accommodation and meals.
Customers in Los Angeles affected by Qantas’ suspension of A380 operations have also been accommodated, while arrangements are made to get them on flights to Australia as soon as possible.
Qantas continues to work closely with Rolls-Royce and Airbus to carry out maintenance checks on its fleet.
Qantas, the second-largest buyer of the giant plane, has grounded its fleet of six A380s until checks are completed on their Rolls-Royce made Trent 900 engines. Qantas has Rolls-Royce RB211-524G-T engines on its Boeing 747.
The engineering union accuses Qantas of sending maintenance off-shore leading to a drop in quality.
Qantas blames the design of Rolls-Royce engines, not maintenance. 92 % of the maintenance of their planes is performed in Australia, with 5,500 engineers.
A passenger aboard the flight filmed smoke pouring out of the engine-
Warning: Trying to access array offset on value of type null in /home/airflight/www/www/wp-content/themes/fluida/includes/loop.php on line 270
What: Qantas Boeing 767-300 en route from Sydney to Manila Where: Sydney When: Sep 6th 2010 Who: 158 passengers Why: After receiving an “anti-skid fault emergency message” the flight returned to Sydney. Passengers had to wait for a replacement flight.
Warning: Trying to access array offset on value of type null in /home/airflight/www/www/wp-content/themes/fluida/includes/loop.php on line 270
What: Qantas Boeing 747-400 en route from San Francisco to Sydney Where: San Francisco When: Aug 31 2010, 12:45 a.m. Who: 212 passengers, 19 crew Why: After takeoff, the right engine failed (exploded), and disrupted the outer engine cowling. Observers reported “a thud, shower of sparks, and engine fire.”
On board, the pilot announced that the captain announced that an engine blew up. The crew shut down the afflicted engine, dumped fuel over the Pacific and returned to San Francisco where it made a safe landing. Inside while landing, passengers cheered.
Passengers were provided hotel accommodations. There were no injuries. Experts have noted the rarity of this type of engine explosion, and also mention how lucky passengers are it occurred facing “out” – although the engine is built to contain exploding particles.
* The 747 has 4 engines.
Warning: Trying to access array offset on value of type null in /home/airflight/www/www/wp-content/themes/fluida/includes/loop.php on line 270
After Flybe found problems with undercarriage fittings on its Bombardier Q400s, Qantas followed suit today and grounded 5 of its oldest Bombardiers on finding fittings issues.
It is projected that two QantasLink Bombardiers will be back in service this weekend, with four weeks allocated for completed repairs and return to service.
Warning: Trying to access array offset on value of type null in /home/airflight/www/www/wp-content/themes/fluida/includes/loop.php on line 270
What: Qantas Airbus A380 en route from LA to Sydney Where: New Caledonia’s La Tontouta airport When: August 11, 2010 Why: Forced to land because of the bad weather, the plane was actually too big to turn on the runway, so it had to sit on the tarmac blocking traffic until it was towed.
Warning: Trying to access array offset on value of type null in /home/airflight/www/www/wp-content/themes/fluida/includes/loop.php on line 270
What: Qantas Boeing 737-800 en route from Sydney to Brisbane Where: Sydney When: Jul 26th 20 Why: While en route, the anti-icing system of the 737 failed. The flight diverted to Sydney and made a safe landing–after having experienced the same problem on the 25th.
It would be interesting to know the details of the system failure. Around this time last year, Air France Flight 447 went down in mysterious circumstances; it is speculated that the pitot tubes froze over, and that the fly by wire Airbus (unlike this Qantas Boeing) was rendered uncontrolled.
So if this was a frozen pitot tube situation where the pilots were able to make a safe landing in a Boeing, one wonders if aspects of Airbus fly by wire should be re-considered.
But this is food for thought only, as I do not have the exact details of the anti-ice system failure.
Warning: Trying to access array offset on value of type null in /home/airflight/www/www/wp-content/themes/fluida/includes/loop.php on line 270
What: Qantas Boeing 767-300 en route from Perth Melbourne Where: Melbourne When: Jun 1 2010 Who: 3 flight attendants Why: Prior to landing, three on board flight attendants became ill from fumes. After landing, they were hospitalized for observation and tests relating to non-specific exposure.
Warning: Trying to access array offset on value of type null in /home/airflight/www/www/wp-content/themes/fluida/includes/loop.php on line 270
What: Qantas Boeing 767-300 en route from Melbourne to Perth Where: Esperance When: May 10th 2010 Who: 3 men aboard a life raft Why: While en route, the flight got a message to assist in keeping an eye on a drifting raft while rescue crews came in to assist. An RAAF Hercules C130 was en route, but had not yet arrived–but the rescue arrived before the Boeing so the Qantas flight continued as usual. The Hercules rescued three survivors from a sunken fishing boat. Their emergency beacon had gone off about 7 a m about 93 nautical miles SW of Esperance. The distress flair had been witnessed by rescue personnel. The nearest boat was 50 miles away.
The owner of the sunken crayfishing boat, Paddy Daniels and his crew Corey Major and Anthony Mansted, were rescued at 1:45pm after a harrowing day in freezing conditions on the life raft. They had boarded it with a hurried selection of supplies at 6 a m after discovering the boat taking on water.
Warning: Trying to access array offset on value of type null in /home/airflight/www/www/wp-content/themes/fluida/includes/loop.php on line 270
What: Qantas Boeing 747-400 en route from Bangkok to London Where: Bangkok When: Apr 6th 2010 Who: 335 passengers Why: After takeoff, engine four had an engine surge. The crew decided to return to Bangkok where they circled, dumped fuel and made a safe landing. Passengers were provided accommodations, and an alternative flight. There were no injuries.
This is the sixth Qantas incident this week.
Warning: Trying to access array offset on value of type null in /home/airflight/www/www/wp-content/themes/fluida/includes/loop.php on line 270
What: Qantas Boeing 747 en route from Los Angeles to Melbourne Where: Melbourne When: Apr 5 2010 Why: While en route over Canberra, a crack developed in the outer pane of the first officer’s windshield. The flight landed safely, and was temporarily taken out of circulation/rotation for repairs.
Warning: Trying to access array offset on value of type null in /home/airflight/www/www/wp-content/themes/fluida/includes/loop.php on line 270
What: Qantas Airbus A380-800 en route from Singapore to Sydney Where: Sydney When: Mar 31st 2010 Who: 244 passengers Why: On landing, the plane blew its left tires; and there were sparks and and a brief fire from the brakes. The plane left a rubber trail. Damage assessment was made on the tarmac by engineers, with the plane sitting on its rims.
Qantas denies classifying this as an “emergency” landing.
George’s Point of View
I’m thinking how smart Boeing is to have held up release of their big jumbo, especially when I see A 380 incidents.
I am reminded of all the flaws that popped in the Airbus A310 (reputedly a rush copy of the Boeing 737); and I also remember reading about Airbus struggling to get the A-380 shipshape before Airbus rushed it to market. In development, Airbus wrestled with a plane that was severely overweight, withstructural, and production problems. Remember the trouble the A-380 had getting launched:
On Dec 4 2009, QANTAS Airbus A380-842 (VH-OQA) Singapore to London- On the runway, the plane’s nose gear became unsteereable. The plane was towed to the gate and spare parts had to be flown in to deal with the problem.
On July 4 2009, Qantas Airbus A380-842 (VH-OQA) Singapore to London- the approach was aborted due to nosegear problems. On landing, steering failed.
In March of 2008, Qantas removed all 3 of its A-380s due to fuel system problems (two unserviceable with a ‘”fuel tank indication system problem”.)
The A380 is a part of the Air France, Emirates, Qantas and Singapore airlines fleets , and in which fuel gauge problems, nosegear problems and braking problems are becoming known issues. Problems also arise because the prohibitive size of the plane limits where it can land.
Some Worrisome Airbus History
In 2004, Joseph Mangan, an Airbus whistleblower told European aviation authorities of flaws on a computer chip on the Airbus A380. (These were microprocessor flaws that could cause the valves that maintain cabin pressure on the A380 to accidentally open during flight, allowing air to leak out so rapidly that everyone aboard could lose consciousness within seconds.)
Mangan was chief engineer for the Viennese company TTTech Computertechnik, which supplied the chips and software controlling the A380 cabin-pressurization system assembled at the French Airbus plant. TTTech fired Mangan, filed civil and criminal charges against him for revealing proprietary company documents. Austrian law has no whistleblower protection, and there is currently a gag order imposed on Mangan. They claim his allegations have been disproved.
What did he know? Have the problems behind his concerns been addressed? What elsedo we not know? Without transparency, how can we ever know?
Warning: Trying to access array offset on value of type null in /home/airflight/www/www/wp-content/themes/fluida/includes/loop.php on line 270
What: Qantas Boeing 747-400 en route Sydney to Singapore Where: Sydney When: Mar 30th 2010 Who: 414 aboard Why: While en route, a right engine experienced an engine surge. That engine had to be shut down. The crew had to dump fuel and return to Sydney where they made a safe landing about an hour after departure. Passengers were provided a replacement plane.
Warning: Trying to access array offset on value of type null in /home/airflight/www/www/wp-content/themes/fluida/includes/loop.php on line 270
What: Qantas Boeing 737-400 en route from Melbourne to Canberra Where: Canberra on Mar 14th 2010 When: Mar 14th 2010 Who: 147 passengers Why: While en route, one engine experienced “thrust loss.” The crew shut down the affected engine, but was able to continue to their destination.
Warning: Trying to access array offset on value of type null in /home/airflight/www/www/wp-content/themes/fluida/includes/loop.php on line 270
What: Qantas Airbus 330 en route from Sydney to Shanghai Where: Sydney When: ebruary 18, 2010 Who: 197 passengers Why: After takeoff, the Qantas Airbus landing gear failed to retract, leading it to circle for 2 hours burning off fuel until it was light enough to land. Passengers were provided an alternative Airbus.
Warning: Trying to access array offset on value of type null in /home/airflight/www/www/wp-content/themes/fluida/includes/loop.php on line 270
What: Qantas Boeing 767-300 en route from Sydney to Melbourne I \ Where: Sydney on When: Feb 1st 2010 Who: 120 passengers Why: On takeoff, the Boeing 767’s tail scuffed the ground. The crew made a precautionary return to the airport for the plane to be inspected for damage and was cleared to continue the flight.
Warning: Trying to access array offset on value of type null in /home/airflight/www/www/wp-content/themes/fluida/includes/loop.php on line 270
What: Qantas Boeing 747-400 en route from Singapore to Melbourne Where: Singapore When: Dec 17th 2009 Who: 354 passengers and 19 crew Why: While en route, the outer right engine surged. Passengers reported bangs and vibration, and flames.
The crew shut down the engine and returned to Singapore on the remaining 3 engines, where they made a safe landing.
The flight was delayed for a day. It is not reported if this plane completed the route or if an alternative plane was used.
Warning: Trying to access array offset on value of type null in /home/airflight/www/www/wp-content/themes/fluida/includes/loop.php on line 270
What: Qantas Airbus A380-800 en route from Singapore to London Where: London When: Dec 4th 2009 Who: not available Why: While landing, the Airbus developed a problem with the nose wheel steering and had to be towed off the runway. The plane was grounded in London waiting for spare parts, anticipating the return flight to be delayed less than half a day.
Warning: Trying to access array offset on value of type null in /home/airflight/www/www/wp-content/themes/fluida/includes/loop.php on line 270
What: Qantas Boeing 737-800 en route from Cairns to Brisbane Where: Coolangatta When: Nov 17th 2009 Who: not available Why: While en route through questionable weather, the plane was struck by lightning. The flight was diverted to Coolangatta/Belinga’s Gold Coast Airport, landing more than half an hour after the original expected arrival time in Brisbane.
Warning: Trying to access array offset on value of type null in /home/airflight/www/www/wp-content/themes/fluida/includes/loop.php on line 270
What: Qantas Boeing 737-400 en route from Brisbane,QL to Melbourne,VI Where: Brisbane When: Nov 10th 2009 Who: 123 passengers Why: After takeoff, the crew detected abnormal engine vibrations, and returned to Brisbane 30 minutes after departure. Passengers reported hearing a bang and seeing a flash. A replacement flight was provided.
Warning: Trying to access array offset on value of type null in /home/airflight/www/www/wp-content/themes/fluida/includes/loop.php on line 270
What: Qantas Airbus A380-800 en route from Sydney, Australia to Los Angeles CA Where: Sydney When: Nov 6th 2009 Who: 329 passengers Why: The flight taxied out for departure but returned to the gate twice, and after eventually departing, two hours later the fuel pump failed. The plane returned to Sydney. Even the return to Sydney was delayed for another hour by bad weather.
Warning: Trying to access array offset on value of type null in /home/airflight/www/www/wp-content/themes/fluida/includes/loop.php on line 270
What: Qantas Boeing 737-800 en route from Adelaide to Perth. Where: en route When: October 30, 2009 Who: 110 passengers Why: When the captain of the Quantas flight fell ill, the co-pilot called an ambulance in to wait for their arrival. The pilot was too sick to fly the plane, but the co-pilot was able to land solo.
Content not attributed to or linked to original, is the property of AirFlightDisaster.com; all rights reserved.
