Qantas A380 and 747-400 emergency landings at Changi

[jhm]

It's too big to fit in the cargo hold on any commerical airliner, so when Boeing developed the 747 they designed this as an alternative way to ferry a spare engine.

Nowadays, I wonder if it'll fit inside a Beluga (albeit there are not many of them around) ?

[FlyBoy]

When will the QF birds be flying again ?

[Sethor]

And today another incident happened : A QANTAS flight has been struck by lightning soon after takeoff on its way from Alice Springs to Darwin.

It's a 717 carrying 115 passengers. Full details at http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/bre...-1225954614664

That article is pretty pathetic, on average every plane is struck by lightning once a year. Just saw another article about a QF JNB-SYD flight had to return because of a engine shutdown caused by a bird strike.

[globetrekker84]

Nowadays, I wonder if it'll fit inside a Beluga (albeit there are not many of them around) ?

It would be ironic if an Airbus Beluga was used to ferry a 747 engine.

If a GE90-115B, used on the 77L and 77W, required replacement in a remote location, only the Antonov An-124 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antonov_An-124) can be used to ferry the complete engine, cowlings and all.

[feb01mel]

Bird strike affects Qantas

Bird strike affects Qantas

SYDNEY: A Qantas Boeing 747 had to turn back to Johannesburg after one of its engines suffered a bird strike, the airline said Wednesday, the latest in a string of incidents to beset the Australian carrier.

Qantas said the plane's number two engine lost power after sucking in a bird shortly after takeoff late Tuesday, with damaged turbines forcing an unplanned landing. There were 171 passengers on board.

"The aircraft is being worked on by engineers," a Qantas spokesman told AFP.

"It's just a bit of damage to some of the turbine blades, it's not a huge thing."

One of Qantas' smaller Boeing 717s was hit by lightning on a regional flight between the Australian destinations of Alice Springs and Darwin hours earlier, causing "minor damage" to the exterior.

The incidents follow the return to Sydney of a Qantas Boeing 747 bound for Buenos Aires on Monday after it suffered an electrical fault which caused smoke to pour into the cockpit.

Qantas has been plagued with mechanical issues since grounding its fleet of Airbus A380s after an engine exploded on one of the superjumbos on November 4, forcing an emergency landing in Singapore.

A Boeing 747 had to turn back to Singapore with a sparking engine the following day, and a Melbourne-bound Boeing 767 returned to the west coast city of Perth with engine vibration a week later.

Qantas said Wednesday it hoped to have the A380 back in service "as soon as possible" but declined to give a timeframe for it.

"We are working with Rolls-Royce to identify which engines need replacement components, or to be replaced altogether, as part of our inspection process," the spokesman said, referring to the engine manufacturer.

Qantas experienced bird strikes two or three times a year and it was a "pretty rare occurrence", he added.

A US Airways Airbus A320 ditched in New York's Hudson River last January after a bird strike on both of its engines, in an incident widely known as the "Miracle on the Hudson" because there was no loss of life.

-AFP/wk

Taken off Channel News Asia

[MAN Flyer]

Poor QF, they really having a time of it at the moment.

Never mind the previous Annus Horribilis, this is a Mensis Horribilis!.

[feb01mel]

Poor QF, they really having a time of it at the moment.

Never mind the previous Annus Horribilis, this is a Mensis Horribilis!.

Yeah boy, does anyone of you here suspect any sabotaging involved ? Seems only QF involved & we didn't hear any other airlines being involved in turn back incidents the past 2 weeks.

[boing]

A Trent 900 engine can fit inside a B744 freighter. In fact, I remember it was one of the engine's design requirements. So, a B747 engine would have no problem fitting into a B747 freighter.

The GE 90 can be shipped in parts excluding the fan case in a B747F. But the AN124 is needed if the fan case is needed as well.

[sqdazz]

Yeah boy, does anyone of you here suspect any sabotaging involved ?

if you find the person responsible for flying a bird into their engine please let me know ....

[HUGE AL]

Poor QF, they really having a time of it at the moment.

Never mind the previous Annus Horribilis, this is a Mensis Horribilis!.

I do think it's more fun to have all the incidents in the Annus Horribilis Thread.

[FN-GM]

If a GE90-115B, used on the 77L and 77W, required replacement in a remote location, only the Antonov An-124 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antonov_An-124) can be used to ferry the complete engine, cowlings and all.

What about a 747F with the opening nose?

[boing]

What about a 747F with the opening nose?

Nope, can't do. The 744F nose opening actually has less height clearance than its main deck side opening. The nose opening is for length challenging cargoes. GE90's problem is its fan case diameter.

[FN-GM]

How do they go about transporting them when they need them in airpots? Do they pull them apart or something?

Thanks

[Sethor]

How do they go about transporting them when they need them in airpots? Do they pull them apart or something?

Thanks

By sea? I can't see a GE90 fitting under a 747 using a pod. I know GE used a 747-100 for flight tests it was pretty close to the ground, I dunno if they modified the landing gear to give it more ground clearance.

http://www.turbokart.com/images/ge90_test.jpg

[boing]

How do they go about transporting them when they need them in airpots? Do they pull them apart or something?

Thanks

Here's a pic of Trent 900 transported by 747F.

http://www.agsecorp.com/productdetai...tid=683&id=135

GE90s can only be transported by AN 124s. Transportation by sea would bore a big financial pain for the airline involved.
http://www.airliners.net/photo/1558954

http://www.airliners.net/photo/1270114

Here's an example of a module from the GE 90.
http://www.agsecorp.com/productdetai...atid=684&id=36