Qantas flight aborted

Wednesday 17 May 2000

Qantas had another mid-air incident yesterday, with an aircraft turning back to Sydney after a warning light lit up in the cockpit.

The Eastern Australian Airlines Dash-8 propeller aircraft, part of Qantas' regional fleet, was carrying six passengers and was bound for Ballina, on the New South Wales mid-north coast early this morning.

The passengers were transferred to another flight while Qantas engineers inspected the aircraft.

"A light illuminated in the cockpit and the captain elected to return to Sydney as a safety precaution," a Qantas spokeswoman said.

Qantas confirmed that it was a hydraulic pump light that lit up in the cabin.

The airline has dismissed the incident as a routine fault that occurs regularly in planes and said it "can happen at any time".

Qantas engineers cleared the aircraft for flight and it was put back into operation.

Qantas has been forced to defend its safety and maintenance record in the face of a spate of incidents.

The most serious incidents included a Qantas jet that overshot the runway at Bangkok airport last September, causing $100million damage to the aircraft, and the undercarriage of a Qantas plane collapsing before take-off at Rome on Easter Sunday.

http://www.theage.com.au/news/20000517/A65266-2000May16.html

-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), May 16, 2000

Answers

Qantas' woes continue

Source: AAP | Published: Sunday May 21, 1:57 PM

A day after Qantas responded to operational concerns identified by the aviation industry watchdog, one of its jets carrying over 400 passengers was turned back to Sydney because of suspected engine failure.

Qantas flight 29 from Sydney to Singapore via Bali was aborted yesterday when the pilot suspected problems in one of the Boeing 747's four engines, a Qantas spokeswoman said.

After a two-and-a-half-hour delay before take-off from Sydney, the flight was aborted just 30 minutes into the journey.

"Thirty minutes into the flight, the pilot suspected there were problems in one of the four engines so, as a precaution, he made the decision to return to Sydney to have it checked out," the spokeswoman said.

The pilot was forced to dump fuel 30,000 feet in the air to ensure a safe landing weight of the aircraft.

"We were told we had engine failure and that we had to jettison 15 tonnes of fuel," passenger Ed Bradley told Sky News.

The flight with 417 passengers on board eventually took off seven hours later with no further incident.

The delay follows a spate of incidents which began with a Qantas Boeing 747 overshooting the runway at Bangkok airport in September, leaving the national carrier with a $100-million repair bill.

The Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) is in the process of conducting a full audit of the airline.

CASA identified several breaches in the seals and bearings workshop to which Qantas responded on Friday.

http://www.smh.com.au/breaking/0005/21/A9063-2000May21.shtml

-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), May 21, 2000.