Just be a little careful what you comment on in this forum. If today's attempt at a news story beat-up (see below) is anything to go by, I reckon there are a few journos in our midst.
Airline backs captain of stricken 717
By NICK CLARK
22mar05
BUDGET airline Jetstar yesterday defended a captain's decision to fly a stricken plane to Melbourne rather than bring it back to Launceston on Friday night.
The flight from Launceston to Melbourne with 102 passengers on board plunged 1200m after an engine on the Boeing 717 blew up.
Jetstar issued a distress call as a result of the explosion in the engine.
The plane flew on one engine and landed without incident in Melbourne.
Jetstar spokesman Simon Westaway said the aircraft had been about halfway into the journey and that Melbourne was the most appropriate place to fly to.
"It was at the top of its ascent so it was a debating point which was the best place to go to but Melbourne is a 24-hour airport so it was the right decision," he said.
"By the time it had turned around it would not have made a lot of difference in time."
The Rolls Royce engine was replaced in Melbourne on Saturday and the plane was back in service on Sunday.
Mr Westaway said safety had been the major reason for deciding where the plane was taken.
He said that Launceston had the appropriate safety levels but Melbourne had been the right decision.
Deputy director of Aviation Safety Investigation with the Australian Transport Safety Bureau Alan Stray said Jetstar had 72 hours to supply more information on the incident.
Mr Stray said the engine might be disassembled overseas by counterpart agencies to the ATSB.
Air Services Australia spokesman Ben Mitchell said the Aviation Rescue and Firefighting Service in Launceston was more than capable of handling the aircraft.
"The Launceston facilities are based on Civil Aviation Safety Authority standards and the [rescue and firefighting service] has to meet certain categories to service types and size of aircraft," he said.
The rescue and firefighting service would have been available on call for the incident but would not have been at the airport at the time of the incident, Mr Mitchell said.