Guest fountainhall Posted May 20, 2011 Posted May 20, 2011 Early this morning, a Qantas Boeing 747-400 made an emergency landing after troubles with one of the engines soon after take-off from Bangkok for London. The crew shut the engine down and the plane returned safely to Suvarnabhumi. The Boeing 747 carrying 308 passengers had been bound for London, but turned back to the Thai capital shortly after take-off after pilots shut down one of its four engines due to "an increase in vibration and high temperatures". "The pilots shut down this engine and as a precaution returned to Bangkok," a Qantas spokesman said . . . "We believe the cause is similar to events that other airlines are experiencing and is subject to an increased monitoring program from the manufacturer Rolls Royce." Worryingly for Qantas passengers, the BBC report goes on to comment on an alleged new Qantas policy to save fuel. Qantas pilots said Friday the airline was pressuring them to take on less fuel to help save costs, amid an industry belief that long-held fuel allocation ratios should be lowered given improved accuracy in weather and traffic forecasts . . . On Tuesday a Melbourne-bound flight from Singapore to Melbourne was diverted to Adelaide after crew discovered the Airbus A380 running low on fuel. The plane is thought to have burned more fuel than expected due to bad weather. Qantas rejected the claim, saying captains were responsible for their fuel order and the airline did not attempt to influence that decision in any way. http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/asia/237982/qantas-flight-in-mid-air-engine-shut-down The Qantas incident follows hot on the heels of another emergency landing made earlier this week at Singapore by a Cathay Pacific A330 aircraft bound from Singapore to Jakarta. Beawiharta, a Reuters news agency photographer aboard the plane, reported that 20 minutes after take off there were two sharp bangs. He said the plane began shaking violently, the lights went out and he could smell something burning. Cathay Pacific reported that the plane's crew shut down the number two engine, a Trent 700, after receiving a "stall warning". "Fire services met the aircraft on arrival. The aircraft stopped on the taxiway and sparks from the number two engine were reported," said a Cathay Pacific spokesman. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-13420940 None of the reports give the ages of the faulty engines. Quote
