Qantas Flight 32
An editor has nominated this article for deletion. You are welcome to participate in the deletion discussion, which will decide whether or not to retain it. |
 | This article documents a current event. Information may change rapidly as the event progresses, and initial news reports may be unreliable. The latest updates to this article may not reflect the most current information. |
 Airbus 380 VH-OQA, the plane involved in the incident | |
| Serious Incident | |
|---|---|
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | Airbus A380 |
| Aircraft name | Nancy Bird Walton |
| Operator | Qantas |
| Registration | VH-OQA |
| Flight origin | London Heathrow Airport |
| Stopover | Singapore Changi Airport |
| Destination | Sydney Airport |
| Passengers | 440 |
| Crew | 26 |
| Fatalities | 0 |
| Injuries | 1 (on the ground) |
| Survivors | 466 |
Qantas Flight 32 (QF32) was a scheduled Airbus A380 flight from London Heathrow Airport to Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport via Singapore Changi Airport on 4 November 2010.
Aircraft
The aircraft involved was an Airbus A380, registration number QF32, tail number VH-OQA.[1]
Incident
The aircraft had a serious mid flight incident at 1330hrs AEDT (GMT+11), believed to be an failure of the left inboard engine, a Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engine, whilst en route over Batam Island, Indonesia.[2][1] Parts of the debris fell on a school, and one child was reported to have suffered minor injuries.[3][4] Debris also fell on houses and a car.[5]
The plane was forced to dump fuel and return to Singapore Changi Airport where it was met by emergency services.
The plane landed safely at 11.45am Singapore time, and all 433 passengers and 26 crew on board were safe. [6][7] Before landing debris was seen falling from plane. [8][3]
Reaction
On the afternoon of 4 November, Qantas CEO Alan Joyce announced that he had grounded the airline's six A380s while investigations proceeded.[7][9]
Singapore Airlines announced later in the day that it has delayed further flights of their A380 fleet, which all use the same engine type, peanding precautionary technical checks on the advice of Airbus and Rolls Royce.[10]
Shares in the engines manufacturer, London Stock Exchange listed Rolls-Royce plc fell 5.5% to 618.5 pence, their sharpest fall in 18 months.[11] The fall in the share price has been directly attributed to this incident.[11] Shares in the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company N.V. also fell.[12]
Tom Ballantyne, a writer on Orient Aviation Magazine, described the incident as "certainly the most serious incident that the A380 has experienced since it entered operations", and concerns have been voiced that this incident may be due to a "major problem", rather than being maintenance-related.[13]
Some flights above Mount Merapi on the nearby Indonesian island of Java, which is currently erupting had previously been re-routed due to the hazard posed by the volcanic ash, although Qantas are not commenting at this point whether volcanic ash might be a factor in this incident.[14]
References
- ^ a b "Aviation Safety Investigation Report 089 – Qantas Airbus A380 - Inflight engine shut down, Indonesia". Australian Transport Safety Bureau, Department of Transport and Regional Services, Government of Australia. Retrieved 2010-11-04.
- ^ "Qantas A380 specifications". Qantas. 2010-11-04. Retrieved 2010-11-04.
- ^ a b "Qantas grounds A380s after engine incident". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 2010-11-04. Retrieved 2010-11-04.
- ^ http://www.theage.com.au/national/explosion-grounds-qantas-airbus-fleet-20101104-17fvo.html The Age, "Explosion grounds Qantas Airbus fleet" 4 November 2010
- ^ http://www.theage.com.au/national/explosion-grounds-qantas-airbus-fleet-20101104-17fvo.html The Age, "Explosion grounds Qantas Airbus fleet" 4 November 2010
- ^ "Qantas jet engine fails: witnesses tell of hearing explosion". The Age. 2010-11-04. Retrieved 2010-11-04.
- ^ a b "Statement on QF32 Air Return to Singapore - Aircraft has Landed Safely". Qantas Airways Limited. 2010-11-04. Retrieved 2010-11-04.
- ^ "Qantas jet engine fails: witnesses tell of hearing explosion". Sydney Morning Herald Traveler. 2010-11-04. Retrieved 2010-11-04.
- ^ http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-11691197 BBC News: "Qantas grounds A380s after Singapore emergency landing" 4 November 2010
- ^ "Delays to A380 flights". Singapore Airlines. 2010-11-04. Retrieved 2010-11-04.
- ^ a b "Rolls Falls Most in a Year After Engine Failure Grounds A380s". Bloomberg. 2010-11-04. Retrieved 2010-11-04.
- ^ http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/11692362 BBC News: "Qantas emergency points spotlight at Airbus and Rolls-Royce" 4 November 2010
- ^ http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/11692362 BBC News: "Qantas emergency points spotlight at Airbus and Rolls-Royce" 4 November 2010
- ^ http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-11691197 BBC News: "Qantas grounds A380s after Singapore emergency landing" 4 November 2010
External links
- BBC article about the grounding of all Qantas Airbus A380s following the incident, with video footage shot from the plane during the flight
- Daily Mail article with many photographs, including of debris on the ground
 | This aviation-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |