Qantas flight QF32, a Boeing 747-400 operating Singapore to Sydney, was diverted to Perth. Fuel was detected leaking from the aircraft’s number four engine – outboard on the left side.
The aircraft, carrying 290 passengers, landed safely at 3.20pm. The airport's emergency service crew were on standby.
Apparently the captain shutdown the number four engine as a precautionary measure.
Perth engineers will attempt to fix the problem however, if the issue is not fixed by 5pm the aircraft will be grounded due to the Sydney curfew that operates from 11pm EST.
If the plane is grounded the crew will also be out of hours, complicating the issue further for Qantas, passengers would then be required to stay overnight in Perth.
The eighteen-year-old plane is due to be retired in November.
Airvan00 From Australia, joined Oct 2008, 712 posts, RR: 1 Reply 1, posted (3 years 9 months 3 weeks 19 hours ago) and read 14457 times:
Now due at SYD at 2215 this evening. Probably best described as a Precautionary landing instead of an Emergency landing.
The number four engine is on the right hand side. (They number them left to right)
Sydscott From Australia, joined Oct 2003, 2396 posts, RR: 18 Reply 6, posted (3 years 9 months 3 weeks 17 hours ago) and read 14048 times:
Quoting NZ107 (Reply 5): Well BNE certainly isn't. DRW may not have the same MX facilities as PER does.
Plus PER has a schedule full of widebody transcon flights so it'll be easier to sub a 744 or a A330 on tomorrow to give some extra lift if the plane can't be fixed overnight.
RFields5421 From United States of America, joined Jul 2007, 6191 posts, RR: 25 Reply 8, posted (3 years 9 months 3 weeks 16 hours ago) and read 13676 times:
Quoting NZ107 (Reply 5): Quoting KL911 (Reply 4):
How can Perth possibly be on the route SIN-SYD?? Why not divert to BNE or Darwin?
Well BNE certainly isn't. DRW may not have the same MX facilities as PER does.
A Great Circle route crosses about 600 nm southwest of DRW and 800 nm northeast of PER. In that 1,400 nm there is a whole lot of nothing to support such a large aircraft. Going into PER adds less than 400nm to the entire trip.
In addition to lack of maintenance capability at DRW as mentioned above, PER has many more alternate flights should the pax have to be booked on other aircraft.
Aussie747 From Australia, joined Aug 2003, 1161 posts, RR: 0 Reply 9, posted (3 years 9 months 3 weeks 15 hours ago) and read 13602 times:
Quoting Airvan00 (Reply 7): QF32 departed PER at 1811 WST, so if it can do the 1770nm in 2hr 40min it will get in ok
Scheduled for arrival at 1116pm local sydney time (so perhaps it has approval to arrive after curfew) or are QF risking any fine it gets issued by arriving at this time. Didn't QF or was it's JQ subsidiary already last year or something cop a $200K fine for departing after the curfew had started for some incidient.
EK413 From Australia, joined Nov 2003, 3983 posts, RR: 4 Reply 12, posted (3 years 9 months 3 weeks 14 hours ago) and read 13299 times:
Quoting Airvan00 (Reply 11): QF will need ministerial approval to land after 2300 Local. The airport does not actually close, as there are approved freight flights all night.
Aircraft received clearance to land at SYD...
I am not surprised this hit the news headlines once again... Shooting QF for carrying a mid-flight engine shut down, precaution diversion to PER... WOW...
The aircraft VH-OJK was scheduled to operate the QF001, with the aircraft diversion it threw a spanner in the works...
VH-OEE operated as a sub...
EK413
Qantas and Emirates, connecting the globe 1 stop to 65 destinations
Boeing747_600 From United States of America, joined Oct 1999, 1259 posts, RR: 0 Reply 13, posted (3 years 9 months 3 weeks 11 hours ago) and read 12196 times:
Quoting EK413 (Reply 12): I am not surprised this hit the news headlines once again... Shooting QF for carrying a mid-flight engine shut down, precaution diversion to PER... WOW...
Who's shooting whom where and over what ?!?! You're imagining things that are just not happening.
Airvan00 From Australia, joined Oct 2008, 712 posts, RR: 1 Reply 15, posted (3 years 9 months 3 weeks 5 hours ago) and read 8262 times:
Quoting Jokestar (Reply 14): That can't be right, QF 1 leaves Sydney at 5pm AEST and QF 32 was originally scheduled to arrive in Sydney at 7:05pm AEST....
Some days QF1 is rescheduled to depart at 2105. Like yesterday and tomorrow.
PS. I suspect EK413 is a lot older than his profile, and probably works in an airline operations centre, as he has a lot of inside knowledge)
Argonaut From UK - Scotland, joined Dec 2004, 417 posts, RR: 1 Reply 16, posted (3 years 9 months 3 weeks 4 hours ago) and read 8115 times:
Quoting Slats (Thread starter): The eighteen-year-old plane is due to be retired in November.
Slightly O/T, but I wasn't aware any QF 744s were facing retirement as soon as that. (Yes, I might have missed something...it wouldn't be the first time!) Could anyone enlighten me?
Otherwise, this sounds like a pretty routine precautionary diversion.
Australis From Australia, joined Feb 2009, 96 posts, RR: 0 Reply 17, posted (3 years 9 months 2 weeks 6 days 20 hours ago) and read 5479 times:
Well, just watching the news now and its like the most important news on first, saying that its down to Qantas moving maintenance overseas and the same aircraft as the one that diverted to Manila due to the oxygen tank exploded mid-air...
Honestly, Qantas atm are damned it they do, or damned if they dont.
United Airline From Hong Kong, joined Jan 2001, 8803 posts, RR: 17 Reply 18, posted (3 years 9 months 2 weeks 6 days 20 hours ago) and read 5358 times:
I don't think they have plans to retire any B 747-400s for now including this one.
Lufthansa747 From Philippines, joined May 1999, 3180 posts, RR: 46 Reply 19, posted (3 years 9 months 2 weeks 6 days 20 hours ago) and read 5339 times:
Maintenance overseas.. OJK exploded over MNL. Whatever.
It has been repaired, now simply a diversion due to a fuel leak on #4 engine. Huge deal? I guess for Aussie media. Pathetic. Where is OJH? Some of you at SYD should call the media to let them know the "Bangkok buster" has not crashed yet, might as well make headline news.
Oldtimer From United Kingdom, joined Aug 2006, 191 posts, RR: 1 Reply 21, posted (3 years 9 months 2 weeks 6 days 19 hours ago) and read 5002 times:
Quoting Airvan00 (Reply 1): The number four engine is on the right hand side. (They number them left to right)
If you read it again, as I had to , I think the original op was stating the leak was on the left side of the number 4 engine, and so visible to pax and crew.
Airvan00 From Australia, joined Oct 2008, 712 posts, RR: 1 Reply 22, posted (3 years 9 months 2 weeks 6 days 18 hours ago) and read 4873 times:
Quoting Oldtimer (Reply 21): If you read it again, as I had to , I think the original op was stating the leak was on the left side of the number 4 engine, and so visible to pax and crew
If that was the intention, it was not conveyed. The way it was written "outboard on the left side" was referring to the engine, not the leak. It has been a very long time since I had to parse sentences , but I agree, that may have been what was intended. However, in a later version of the article, it was changed to the right side of the aircraft.
747classic From Netherlands, joined Aug 2009, 1815 posts, RR: 11 Reply 23, posted (3 years 9 months 2 weeks 6 days 17 hours ago) and read 4748 times:
What a fuzz about this incident. With aircraft that are 40% of their live in the air, sometimes things like this happen in aviation.
As stated it's not an emergency landing,but a precautionary landing.
On a twin engined airplane however this would have been an emergency, when shutting down one engine.
EK413 From Australia, joined Nov 2003, 3983 posts, RR: 4 Reply 24, posted (3 years 9 months 2 weeks 6 days 17 hours ago) and read 4689 times:
Quoting Boeing747_600 (Reply 13): Who's shooting whom where and over what ?!?! You're imagining things that are just not happening.
Ummm, have you been hiding under a rock...?
Any incident involving one the world's safest carriers always attracts the media and they are always ready to go over board... You may not agree but others will...
Quoting Jokestar (Reply 14): That can't be right, QF 1 leaves Sydney at 5pm AEST and QF 32 was originally scheduled to arrive in Sydney at 7:05pm AEST.....
QF001 some days is rescheduled to depart at 2105 due to aircraft rotation utilizing the QF032 / QF018 arrival for example...
Quoting Airvan00 (Reply 15): PS. I suspect EK413 is a lot older than his profile, and probably works in an airline operations centre, as he has a lot of inside knowledge)
Huh...?
Quoting Airvan00 (Reply 15): Some days QF1 is rescheduled to depart at 2105. Like yesterday and tomorrow.
It has been repaired, now simply a diversion due to a fuel leak on #4 engine. Huge deal? I guess for Aussie media. Pathetic. Where is OJH? Some of you at SYD should call the media to let them know the "Bangkok buster" has not crashed yet, might as well make headline news.
I'm glad some of us have a sense of humor...
EK413
Qantas and Emirates, connecting the globe 1 stop to 65 destinations
25 777STL: QF has been trying to sell(sold?) a few of them for a while now. A worldwide downturn in traffic plus four new 380s equals decreased utilization of t
26 Lufthansa747: I left out a major detail... I flew on OJK a few months before "MNL" on SYD-JNB. My traytable was simply broken, the plates in F simply tried to fall
27 Boeing747_600: Lets talk about the reportage of this incident. Can you point out a single instance wherein the incident was blown out of proportion and made to soun
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, but I agree, that may have been what was intended. However, in a later version of the article, it was changed to the right side of the aircraft.
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