Uncontained turbine failure in the No. 02 Rolls-Royce Trent 900 port side engine of VH-OQA (Callsign: QANTAS 32), probably threw FODs into the adjacent No. 01 engine and severed a number of hydraulic lines as well. :think:Troubled Qantas plane lands in Singapore
Posted: 04 November 2010 1135 hrs
SINGAPORE - A Qantas A380 made a dramatic emergency landing in Singapore Thursday, trailing smoke from a damaged engine, in the first mid-air emergency involving the Airbus superjumbo.
The double-decker plane, which had taken off from Singapore bound for Sydney carrying 433 passengers and 26 crew, dumped fuel over Indonesia before returning to the city-state's Changi Airport.
A Changi Airport Group spokesperson said the troubled Qantas plane turned back to Changi "for technical reasons".
The A380 Qantas flight, QF 32, bound for Sydney, Australia, departed Singapore Changi Airport at 0956 hours on Thursday.
But it experienced engine trouble over Batam Indonesia and circled around for an emergency landing.
It landed safely at Singapore Changi Airport Terminal 1 at 11.46am Singapore time.
"The flight has landed safely at Changi Airport and there are no passengers or crew injured," an Australian foreign department statement said.
Six fire engines swarmed the A380 flight on landing, spraying liquid on it, according to an AFP reporter at the Singapore airport.
One of the engines on the four-engined plane's left wing was blackened and its rear casing was missing.
Metal debris including a part bearing the airline's red-and-white "flying kangaroo" emblem slammed into industrial and residential areas of the Indonesian city of Batam, opposite Singapore.
"I didn't see a plane crash but I heard a loud explosion in the air. There were metal shards coming down from the sky into an industrial area in Batam," witness Noor Kanwa told AFP.
Another witness described hearing a deafening screeching sound, and said Batam residents came out of their homes to observe the superjumbo circling as it used up its fuel before attempting to land.
"I was driving near a residential estate when suddenly I heard a thunderous braking sound," 35-year-old driver Ricky said.
"Then three or four pieces of metal fell from the sky, each not longer than a metre (yard). They fell into a field," he added.
Australian flag-carrier Qantas, which prides itself as the world's safest airline with no fatal jetliner crashes in its 90-year history, blamed an "engine issue" for the incident but gave no further details.
"In line with procedure, the pilot sought priority clearance for its return to Singapore," the airline said.
According to Qantas, flight QF32 was equipped with four Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engines.
"We will work with Qantas to identify what the problem is," a spokesman for the British engine maker told Dow Jones Newswires.
A spokesman for Airbus, a division of European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co. (EADS) that is based in the French city of Toulouse, declined to comment on the incident but said: "The A380 is operating very well."
The A380's very first commercial flight operated by Singapore Airlines was on the same Singapore-Sydney route in October 2007.
Since then, fuel and computer glitches have grounded several A380s and at least one Air France flight was forced to turn around and land in New York after problems with its navigation system in November 2009.
In April, a Qantas A380 damaged tyres on landing from Singapore in Sydney, showing sparks and scaring passengers.
Qantas shares plunged 3.75 percent in Sydney to 2.82 Australian dollars on initial reports of a crashed plane but rallied after the A380 landed and later stood at 2.89 dollars.
The plane is the largest passenger jet in operation, with 50 percent more floor space than Boeing's veteran 747 jumbo. The A380 can carry up to 853 passengers in an all-economy configuration.
A total of 37 of the giant jets are in operation, including six by Qantas. Emirates, Singapore Airlines, Air France-KLM and Lufthansa are the other operators. Another 234 A380s are on order from airlines, according to Airbus.
Qantas said its A380s operate selected flights from Sydney and Melbourne to Los Angeles, Singapore and London.
- AFP /ls
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_asiapacific/view/1091283/1/.html
Uncontained turbine failure in the No. 02 Rolls-Royce Trent 900 port side engine of VH-OQA (Callsign: QANTAS 32), probably threw FODs into the adjacent No. 01 engine and severed a number of hydraulic lines as well. :think:
I'm guessing a section of the Low-Pressure Turbine (LPT) or High-Pressure Turbine (HPT) disc-blade assembly (or both) IMHO since a fragment of the turbine stator vane assembly was recovered in Batam by the Indonesian authorities along with the rather sever damages inflicted to the engine cowling.Wonder what it threw up to puncture the wing. Thats reallllly scary.
I'm guessing a section of the Low-Pressure Turbine (LPT) or High-Pressure Turbine (HPT) disc-blade assembly (or both) IMHO since a fragment of the turbine stator vane assembly was recovered in Batam by the Indonesian authorities along with the rather sever damages inflicted to the engine cowling.
We will just have to wait for the official report from both the Air Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) of Australia and Singapore regarding the incident.
To be fair, there was also a similar uncontained turbine failure in the No. 04 Rolls-Royce RB211-524 starboard side engine of VH-OJP, a Qantas Airways (QFA) Boeing 747-438 operating as flight number 74 from San Francisco International Airport (SFO) to Sydney Airport (YSSY) on the 30th of August 2010 just 2 months and 6 days ago.Eeee....ScareBus....last year was the A330 disappear in the middle of the ocean and now this A380 engine explode....:dunno:
To be fair, there was also a similar uncontained turbine failure in the No. 04 Rolls-Royce RB211-524 starboard side engine of VH-OJP, a Qantas Airways (QFA) Boeing 747-438 operating as flight number 74 from San Francisco International Airport (SFO) to Sydney Airport (YSSY) on the 30th of August 2010 just 2 months and 6 days ago.
Certain areas on the underside of the wing as well as a segment of the triple-slotted trailing-edge flaps was punctured by ejected debris as well.
To be fair, there was also a similar uncontained turbine failure in the No. 04 Rolls-Royce RB211-524 starboard side engine of VH-OJP, a Qantas Airways (QFA) Boeing 747-438 operating as flight number 74 from San Francisco International Airport (SFO) to Sydney Airport (YSSY) on the 30th of August 2010 just 2 months and 6 days ago.
Certain areas on the underside of the wing as well as a segment of the triple-slotted trailing-edge flaps was punctured by ejected debris as well.
Qantas B747 plane "experienced engine problems" after takeoff
By Lynda Hong | Posted: 05 November 2010 2214 hrs
SINGAPORE: A Qantas aircraft experienced engine problems on Friday evening.
Qantas said that shortly after takeoff, QF6 operating from Singapore to Sydney "experienced an issue with its number 1 engine".
Qantas added that as a precautionary measure, the captain of the Boeing 747 aircraft sought priority clearance to return to Singapore.
The aircraft landed safely.
There were 412 passengers on board, along with three flight crew and 16 cabin crew.
- CNA/ir
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1091628/1/.html
Anybody going to do plane-spotting over the CNY week holidays ?
Aerodrome beacon used for visual identification purpose, flashes of white and green or green only indicate that the area is a lighted land airport.I notice a green light blink on top of a changi cargo building.. and seem like 3 letter moose code.
Anyone can enlighten me?
9V-Orion Images said:Aerodrome beacon used for visual identification purpose, flashes of white and green or green only indicate that the area is a lighted land airport.
Well, just to further elaborate. There are many uncontrolled aerodromes/airports and landing strips in the world especially within rural areas without any forms of illumination even at night thus the aerodrome beacon is use to identify and also distinguish between the separate classes of aerodromes/airports and landing strips (civilian, military etc. etc.) from the air especially to pilots of General Aviation (GA) aircrafts operating under Visual Flight Rules (VFR).Wah.. cool. Thks bro!