Australian carrier Qantas yesterday diverted one of its A380s due to engine problems, a year to the day after a turbine blast, in the latest public relations setback after a shutdown grounded its fleet.
Flight QF31 was four hours into the flight from Singapore to London carrying 283 passengers and crew, including British actor Stephen Fry, when the pilot decided the oil pressure in one engine made it necessary to reroute to Dubai.
On Nov. 4 last year, flight QF32, also out of Singapore, experienced an engine blast en route to Sydney. That flight landed safely despite damage to the plane, but the incident prompted Qantas to ground all its A380s.
Qantas, which last week shut down its entire fleet over an escalating industrial dispute with unions, stranding thousands of passengers, subjected its Airbus A380 planes to intensive safety checks after last year’s mid-air blast.
Qantas said there were no links between the two incidents.
“This is a coincidence,” spokeswoman Olivia Wirth said.
“It is an issue which has been detected in engine No. 4 and it involves the pressure defect of the oil in this particular engine,” she told reporters. “It was shut down in line with procedures and the captain diverted the aircraft and safely arrived in Dubai around two-and-a-half hours later.”
The aircraft was being assessed by engineers in Dubai, she added.
“It will be a priority of ours to ensure that we work out exactly what the particular problem is in this engine,” Wirth added.
Qantas said it was doing all it could to help passengers, including Fry, who was amusing his 3.3 million Twitter followers with his remarks.
“Bugger. Forced to land in Dubai. An engine has decided not to play,” was his first comment on the matter, adding two hours later while he was still sitting on the tarmac: “This plane, the crew tell me, is going nowhere.”
Shortly after tweeting that he was on a bus from the plane to the terminal, he cut in with an -expletive-laden tweet.
“I’ve left my wallet on the sodding plane,” he said. “Hell’s teeth this really isn’t my day. Will not leave without it.”
Which prompted this reply from Qantas’ Twitter account: “Mr Fry, don’t worry we will get your wallet back. We know the crew are keeping you updated and we are talking with them. So sorry.”
And they did. “Reunited with wallet & cards so v relieved! Hurrah. Qantas have gone to the trouble & expense of this: which is nice,” Fry wrote.
The mid-air explosion last year sent shards of metal raining down on an Indonesian island and punched a hole in the wing of the aircraft.
No one was injured, but the emergency landing in a trail of smoke dented Qantas’ reputation for safety.
Subsequent investigations pinpointed a manufacturing defect that caused fatigue cracking in an oil pipe, resulting in a fire and potentially catastrophic engine failure.
The pledge by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi to “work, work, work, work and work” for her country has been named the catchphrase of the year, recognizing the effort Japan’s first female leader had to make to reach the top. Takaichi uttered the phrase in October when she was elected as head of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). Many were initially as worried about her work ethic as supportive of her enthusiasm. In a country notorious for long working hours, especially for working women who are also burdened with homemaking and caregiving, overwork is a sensitive topic. The recognition triggered a
A plan by Switzerland’s right-wing People’s Party to cap the population at 10 million has the backing of almost half the country, according to a poll before an expected vote next year. The party, which has long campaigned against immigration, argues that too-fast population growth is overwhelming housing, transport and public services. The level of support comes despite the government urging voters to reject it, warning that strict curbs would damage the economy and prosperity, as Swiss companies depend on foreign workers. The poll by newspaper group Tamedia/20 Minuten and released yesterday showed that 48 percent of the population plan to vote
‘HEART IS ACHING’: Lee appeared to baffle many when he said he had never heard of six South Koreans being held in North Korea, drawing criticism from the families South Korean President Lee Jae-myung yesterday said he was weighing a possible apology to North Korea over suspicions that his ousted conservative predecessor intentionally sought to raise military tensions between the war-divided rivals in the buildup to his brief martial law declaration in December last year. Speaking to reporters on the first anniversary of imprisoned former South Korean president Yoon Suk-yeol’s ill-fated power grab, Lee — a liberal who won a snap presidential election following Yoon’s removal from office in April — stressed his desire to repair ties with Pyongyang. A special prosecutor last month indicted Yoon and two of his top
A powerful magnitude 7.6 earthquake shook Japan’s northeast region late on Monday, prompting tsunami warnings and orders for residents to evacuate. A tsunami as high as three metres (10 feet) could hit Japan’s northeastern coast after an earthquake with an estimated magnitude of 7.6 occurred offshore at 11:15 p.m. (1415 GMT), the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) said. Tsunami warnings were issued for the prefectures of Hokkaido, Aomori and Iwate, and a tsunami of 40cm had been observed at Aomori’s Mutsu Ogawara and Hokkaido’s Urakawa ports before midnight, JMA said. The epicentre of the quake was 80 km (50 miles) off the coast of
RSS