Safety implications of flights from Australia to South America
I am a very nervous flyer at the best of times, but the flight I will be taking next Monday has got me worried to the extent of considering cancelling my ticket and thus my holiday....
I will be flying the QANTAS flight 17 from Sydney direct to Buenos Aires via the south pacific (Boeing 747). I have had a look at the flight path for this flight and am amazed (and shocked) by how far away this flight is from any diversion airports. Once the flight gets past New Zealand, there are no more alternates until South America - nothing but ocean and ice, with the nearest airport up to 5 hrs away if a problem occurs in mid flight.
What about a fuel leak that occurs half way through the flight (remember the AIR TRANSAT flight in the Atlantic) a cargo hold fire, or fire anywhere else on the plane from for example from faulty wiring (remember SWISSAIR) with the nearest airport 5 hours away? The key to getting out of these problems is to land ASAP, which is just not an option with this incredibly isolated flight.... As the distance of the flight is pushing the maximum range of the 747, what if you lose an engine or two and need to descend, thus increasing fuel use and jeopardising the ability of the aircraft to reach its destination or any diversion airport? How good is the weather forecasting down in the depths of the south pacific / Antarctic area - are the headwind forecasts reliable enough to be planning fuel loads with current margins of error? What about a medical emergency? (best not to have a heart attack on this flight...)
Does anyone know if there are any extra precautions (extra mechanical checks, additional fuel loading requirements, extra redundancies in equipment e.g. navigational instruments) that are put in place for flights of this nature so distant from diversion airports? I have trouble seeing myself sitting on board this plane thinking that we are so far from anywhere to land should any problem happen to occur. Any thoughts or comments from anyone on the safety implications of such an isolated flight, or any experiences with having flown on QANTAS 17/18. Thanks