Rolls-Royce claims the Trent 900 problem is confined to a specific part in the turbine area. 21 of 38 A380s operated by Singapore Air, Qantas and Lufthansa use Rolls-Royce Trent 900 series engines. Singapore Air may have to replace 24 engines. Qantas is inspecting 14 engines which may shared among six planes—which may explain some of the strain evident in so many recent Qantas incidents. Six grounded super jumbos are costing Qantas a million dollars a day.
On the Airbus A380, bound for Sydney from Singapore, which was carrying 433 passengers and 26 crew members, an engine exploded over Batam, sending turbine shrapnel flying out of the plane’s engine, severing cables in the wing, taking out flight control systems and narrowly missing the fuel tank. With fuel gushing out of the fuel tank there and hot components, passengers are lucky the wing did not ignite.
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Rolls said in a statement that the failure was confined to a specific component in the turbine area of the engine. This caused an oil fire. The British company added that it would replace the faulty part. Safety continues to be Rolls-Royce’s highest priority. See their statement
Qantas is grounding its Airbus A380 superjumbos until further notice, and Singapore Airlines is grounding 3 of its A380s. EASA is calling for inspections. See the directive.
What Happened
The cause of the Rolls Royce engine failure has been pinned down to a faulty bearing box, the underlying cause of the oil leak. The bearings allow the drive shaft to move. The leaking bearing box dripped oil into the QANTAS A380 whose engine exploded (uncontained) into the wing, and dropping its turbine onto a house in Batam. The wing damage included electrical cables and hydraulic lines inside the wing, so that pilots were dealing with hydraulic damage (inability to close the landing gear doors), and electrical damage (trouble shutting down the engine beside the damaged one.)
The Qantas meltdown is one of at least five documented A380 engine malfunctions.
Qantas A388 near Singapore on Nov 4th 2010
Lufthansa A388 near Frankfurt on Aug 6th 2010, engine shut down in flight
Emirates A388 near Zurich on Jul 13th 2010, engine shut down in flight
Singapore A388 near Krakow on Sep 27th 2009, engine shut down in flight
Singapore A388 near London on May 25th 2009, engine failure
Newer Trent 900 engines have a different bearing box. Although the new box promises to eliminate the problem, newer models also have system software to shut down the engine before the leak causes a meltdown similar to the QANTAS A380 event over Singapore.
George’s Point of View
Although one might say that regulators did not adequately check the engine before approving it for commercial use, I think of Boeing’s response to its recent 787 test flight, and I point out that no one made Boeing step back and pull the 787 back on to the drawing board for more tests and adjustments. Boeing did that, because such remediation is what testing is all about. It is part and parcel of the paradigm of safety in design. It is up to each manufacturer that every item off of their assembly lines be as well designed and as safe as humanly possible. This includes fixing design flaws as soon as they are known. So I wonder, if newer Trent 900 engines have an improved bearing box, this of course begs the question why the older ones were not replaced.
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What: Cessna 172N Skyhawk en route from Buchannan Field Airport Where: Fresno California When: Feb 5 2012 Who: 1 fatality Why: Apparently Ray Pirro who was not a pilot snuck into Buchanan Field and stole the Cessna Skyhawk that took his life. Pirro had no pilots license, was covered in tattoos, was recently released from prison, and apparently just took the plane to take a joy ride. He flew into power lines and smashed up by Barstow Avenue. Owner Felix J Boston is a retired lieutenant colonel. He had left the plane in Buchanan Field Airport and was surprised to find someone had taken it. He called the plane “his baby” and regrets its loss.
The thief had covered the plane’s registration numbers and stopped off at a Stockton Walmart for junk food. (The crash site was strewn with Cheese whiz.) There was still gas in the plane, so it did not run out of gas, but striking the power lines may have been Pirro’s downfall.
IDENTIFICATION
Regis#: 7582D Make/Model: C172 Description: 172, P172, R172, Skyhawk, Hawk XP, Cutla
Date: 02/06/2012 Time: 0006
Event Type: Accident Highest Injury: Fatal Mid Air: N Missing: N
Damage: Substantial
LOCATION
City: FRESNO State: CA Country: US
DESCRIPTION
AIRCRAFT STRUCK POWERLINES AND CRASHED INTO A FIELD, THE 1 PERSON ON BOARD
WAS FATALLY INJURED, 12 MILES FROM FRESNO, CA
INJURY DATA Total Fatal: 1
# Crew: 1 Fat: 1 Ser: 0 Min: 0 Unk:
# Pass: 0 Fat: 0 Ser: 0 Min: 0 Unk:
# Grnd: Fat: 0 Ser: 0 Min: 0 Unk:
OTHER DATA
Activity: Unknown Phase: Unknown Operation: OTHER
FAA FSDO: FRESNO, CA (WP17) Entry date: 02/06/2012
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Air India flight AI021 had to land in emergency in New Delhi, after rats were found running around the cabin, on the evening of August 4.
The Airbus A-321 was on its way from Calcutta to New Delhi when the crew members discovered ‘scores’ of rats in the cabin. The plane safely landed at the Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi after which, the passengers were evacuated and the aircraft was grounded for pest control treatment and fumigation.
According to a senior commander, “Rats on board an aircraft can lead to a catastrophe if they start chewing up electric wires of a fly by wire plane…If that happens, pilots will have no control on any system on board leading to a disaster.”
However, an Air India officer was reported saying that the rat infestation is ‘common’ in planes worldwide as the rodents could ‘get in anywhere.’ “They follow the catering vans into the plane when they smell the food,” he said.
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The FAA requires airports have a practice drill very three years. Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport had a disaster drill last week, practicing saving the 129 passengers and 5 crew (including 100 volunteers and 500 participants) of a simulated Airbus 320 crash.
Emergency responders in the drill included Red Cross, Medical workers from ten hospitals, Police from from Hebron and Elsmere and airport personnel. A triage area was set up, just like in an actual event.
United Airlines flight UA-1884 suffered a bird strike near Portland, Oregon, on February 10th.
Cathay Pacific flight CX-755 made a safe landing at Suvarnabhumi Airport, Bangkok, Thailand, on August 14.