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Qantas Flight Attaches Fifth Engine to Wing
Jesse Tabit January 11, 2016
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In a rare move, a recent Qantas flight from Sydney attached a fifth engine to its wing to be used as a replacement for another aircraft at its destination, Johannesburg. The method, which requires extra fuel and must fly much slower than usual, has not been used since 2011.
The flight landed safely in Johannesburg with the Rolls Royce engine securely fashioned under its left wing.
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[Photo: Instagram/Qantas]
Sorry folks, but this is hardly New News. Large transports, typically 4-engine types such as the B747 and DC8 have used this method to transport spare engines - for decades. Not sure, but it probably began with the the B707 class. The 'extra' engine is typically non-operational, thus the extra drag and fuel required. When necessary to move a complete engine from A to B, it is far less expensive that hiring an entire large-bore cargo aircraft to make the move. While only a few airplanes with extra pylons remain active, at one time nearly all 'major' airlines had at least one with the dead engine transport capability; many were officially certificated by FAA and foreign safety authorities. Sorry folks, but the report is multiple decades stale.
Most major airlines have aircraft with a fifth pod attcahment.I worked in maintenance at BA and they had a 747's with same capability/feature