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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

Click video to isten to passenger’s account

Qantas Statement on QF17

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