Qantas under scrutiny as incidents mount
May 9, 2000, 5:56 am
#1
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Qantas under scrutiny as incidents mount
The Australian Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) is beginning a routine audit of Qantas engineering and maintenance and a Senate committee is to look into maintenance standards of all Australian airlines following the recent string of incidents involving Qantas aircraft.
[URL=http://news.airwise.com/stories/2000/05/957871953.html]
Qantas Airways Ltd. (A.QAN), Australia's biggest airline, is dedicated to maintaining its good safety record, Chief Executive James Strong said Tuesday.
http://dowjones.wsj.com/archive/gx.c...er=display-d2h
[This message has been edited by doc (edited 05-09-2000).]
[URL=http://news.airwise.com/stories/2000/05/957871953.html]
Qantas Airways Ltd. (A.QAN), Australia's biggest airline, is dedicated to maintaining its good safety record, Chief Executive James Strong said Tuesday.
http://dowjones.wsj.com/archive/gx.c...er=display-d2h
[This message has been edited by doc (edited 05-09-2000).]
May 17, 2000, 5:21 am
#2
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The Australian Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) will decide this week whether to follow US regulators and withdraw approval for Qantas Airways Ltd to repair some aviation parts.
The US Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) has suspended certification for the Australian national carrier's bearing and seal workshop in Sydney - which works on engine bearings, rotating parts and seals - due to "technicalities".
CASA spokesman Peter Gibson said the safety group had brought forward a scheduled, annual review into Qantas's bearing and seal works after the FAA's withdrawal of certification for work on US aircraft.
http://news.airwise.com/stories/2000/05/958479695.html
The reputation of the Australian airline Qantas was dented further yesterday when gunpowder was found in metal tubes on an aircraft and another plane was forced to turn back after a warning light lit up in the cabin.
http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/world/wrld12_0517.html
[This message has been edited by doc (edited 05-17-2000).]
The US Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) has suspended certification for the Australian national carrier's bearing and seal workshop in Sydney - which works on engine bearings, rotating parts and seals - due to "technicalities".
CASA spokesman Peter Gibson said the safety group had brought forward a scheduled, annual review into Qantas's bearing and seal works after the FAA's withdrawal of certification for work on US aircraft.
http://news.airwise.com/stories/2000/05/958479695.html
The reputation of the Australian airline Qantas was dented further yesterday when gunpowder was found in metal tubes on an aircraft and another plane was forced to turn back after a warning light lit up in the cabin.
http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/world/wrld12_0517.html
[This message has been edited by doc (edited 05-17-2000).]
May 22, 2000, 10:21 am
#3
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A Qantas flight carrying more than 400 passengers was aborted 30 minutes after take-off on Saturday because of suspected engine failure in the latest incident to dog the national carrier.
Qantas flight 29 from Sydney to Singapore via the Indonesian island of Bali was aborted when the pilot suspected engine failure in the Boeing 747, a Qantas spokeswoman said.
Following a two-and-a-half-hour delay before take-off, the flight was aborted just 30 minutes later and returned to Sydney.
http://theage.com.au/news/20000522/A9531-2000May21.html
Qantas flight 29 from Sydney to Singapore via the Indonesian island of Bali was aborted when the pilot suspected engine failure in the Boeing 747, a Qantas spokeswoman said.
Following a two-and-a-half-hour delay before take-off, the flight was aborted just 30 minutes later and returned to Sydney.
http://theage.com.au/news/20000522/A9531-2000May21.html
Jun 13, 2000, 6:46 am
#4
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Qantas Flight QF2 departing London Heathrow at 1.30pm Sunday en route to Sydney via Bangkok with 352 passengers and crew on board was forced to return after a failed heater caused the captain's window to crack.
A spokeswoman said the outer pane of the captain's window cracked because of internal and external temperature differences as the aircraft was climbing. The plane returned safely to Heathrow just after 3.00pm and passengers were transferred to another plane that left London just before 7.00pm. The replacement flight was due in Sydney at 6.20am today.
No one was injured, but company sources cited by the Melborne Age newspaper reported that some crew members were "a bit shaken".
"It happened about 10 minutes into the flight, just before the plane levelled off, when there was a loud noise which surprised the crew and could have been heard by passengers in the first class section," one source said. "But I doubt whether any of the other passengers knew what was going on because the cabin is sealed off."
Another source said: "The heater that keeps the window at the right temperature seems to have failed, which meant the difference in temperature with the outside caused a small crack to appear. The higher the plane went the bigger the crack became, so the crew decided to turn back. They had to dump 72 tonnes of fuel before the plane could land."
A Qantas spokesman said the plane was not the same 747-400 that crash-landed at Bangkok last September, or the plane whose undercarriage collapsed at Rome earlier this year.
A company spokeswoman said: "There was a three-and-a-half-hour delay, but there was no safety problem because the outer window pane has nothing to do with the plane's structure. If the plane was further into the flight, the captain would probably have kept going to Bangkok."
A spokeswoman said the outer pane of the captain's window cracked because of internal and external temperature differences as the aircraft was climbing. The plane returned safely to Heathrow just after 3.00pm and passengers were transferred to another plane that left London just before 7.00pm. The replacement flight was due in Sydney at 6.20am today.
No one was injured, but company sources cited by the Melborne Age newspaper reported that some crew members were "a bit shaken".
"It happened about 10 minutes into the flight, just before the plane levelled off, when there was a loud noise which surprised the crew and could have been heard by passengers in the first class section," one source said. "But I doubt whether any of the other passengers knew what was going on because the cabin is sealed off."
Another source said: "The heater that keeps the window at the right temperature seems to have failed, which meant the difference in temperature with the outside caused a small crack to appear. The higher the plane went the bigger the crack became, so the crew decided to turn back. They had to dump 72 tonnes of fuel before the plane could land."
A Qantas spokesman said the plane was not the same 747-400 that crash-landed at Bangkok last September, or the plane whose undercarriage collapsed at Rome earlier this year.
A company spokeswoman said: "There was a three-and-a-half-hour delay, but there was no safety problem because the outer window pane has nothing to do with the plane's structure. If the plane was further into the flight, the captain would probably have kept going to Bangkok."
Jun 13, 2000, 6:53 am
#5
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It's sad to say this but...
I think its time for a boycott of Qantas until such time as a Royal Commission is established to get to the bottom of all this.
No Royal Commission, no fly Qantas. Even Rainman wouldn't fly with them at the moment.
For the time being I recommend you choose Ansett or Air New Zealand instead. Vote with your feet until the cause of all these problems can be established. It's your choice. I know I won't be flying with them.
It's a national disgrace. Qantas used to have one of the best safety records around. Now it's turning into the Korean Airlines of the South Pacific.
cheers Peter
[This message has been edited by ffhound (edited 06-13-2000).]
I think its time for a boycott of Qantas until such time as a Royal Commission is established to get to the bottom of all this.
No Royal Commission, no fly Qantas. Even Rainman wouldn't fly with them at the moment.
For the time being I recommend you choose Ansett or Air New Zealand instead. Vote with your feet until the cause of all these problems can be established. It's your choice. I know I won't be flying with them.
It's a national disgrace. Qantas used to have one of the best safety records around. Now it's turning into the Korean Airlines of the South Pacific.
cheers Peter
[This message has been edited by ffhound (edited 06-13-2000).]