Spring from Virgin plane hits house
Spring from Virgin plane hits house
By Lloyd Jones
March 3, 2004
A SPRING from the landing gear of a Virgin Blue Boeing 737-700 fell on to a Townsville house, leaving a dent in the roof, the airline confirmed today.
The 15cm spring weighing between 100 and 150 grams came loose as the aircraft was coming in to land on January 13, airline spokesman David Huttner said.
He said Boeing issued an advisory about the springs in December and Virgin Blue had immediately ordered the modified parts but had yet to receive enough to attach to all of its 737-700s.
"It is a safety issue if a part comes off but it doesn't affect the operational integrity of the aircraft, there are a pair of springs on each set of landing gear," Mr Huttner said.
"The chances are very small of this occurring frequently but at the same time we don't want this to occur at all and therefore we've been pushing Boeing to get the parts out here as quickly as possible.
"Every single one we've received from Boeing we've immediately placed on aircraft."
Australian Transport Safety Bureau spokesman Peter Saint said the bureau had investigated the incident and Virgin Blue had taken steps to prevent any recurrence.
No further action had been taken against the airline.
Mr Saint said an air traffic controller advised the Boeing's crew that a resident living under the flight path had found the spring after it fell onto his roof.
Mr Huttner said Virgin Blue had arranged for the replacement of a roofing sheet for the house owner.
"He was very kind, he got us the spring back immediately, so we were able to do a review with the operational safety team. He wasn't angry or upset in any way."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
All I can say is thank god the passengers never heard about this - for once again the media would have been cluttered with distressed people screaming "It was the scariest moment of my life - I thought I was going to die..." and "I reckon I heard something pop out - at first I thought it was the wing..."
Cheers,
Soulman.