Mon "New Zealand Herald" 26/8/02
Parts problem causes two aborted flights
26.08.2002
By CATHY ARONSON
Two Air New Zealand flights were aborted in the weekend after a panel from a Boeing 747 plane fell onto a Manukau carpark and a Boeing 767 from Perth had steering problems.
Air New Zealand visually inspected the rest of its fleet this weekend, but said there were no other problems and the two incidents were not related.
The first problem happened on Friday night one hour into a six-hour flight to Auckland. The 767 pilot was forced to turn back to Perth airport after the computer detected a problem with the aileron, a banking control on the wing used to turn the aircraft.
The plane's 217 passengers were delayed for 18 hours while engineers replaced the aileron with a new one ordered from Sydney.
Air New Zealand said the passengers were not in danger as the pilot did not lose steering control but turned back as a precaution.
One passenger, children's book publisher Wendy Pye, said many on board the flight vowed to never fly Air New Zealand again.
"I've been flying for 25 years. I spend seven months of the year flying around the world and I've never experienced anything like it. They wouldn't turn back unless it was serious and they wouldn't order a new part if it wasn't broken."
When the plane finally arrived in Auckland on Sunday morning, the passengers clapped, she said.
On Saturday morning another Air New Zealand plane, a 747-400, was forced to turn back to Auckland Airport shortly after take-off to Japan when a panel detached from the right wing above the engine.
The crew were unaware the panel had fallen off until the police contacted the airline when two members of the public saw it fall.
The 10kg panel fell onto a carpark between Cavendish Drive and Ronwood Ave, 800m away from the Wiri police station.
The 1.3m by 80cm panel was non- structural, and did not affect the plane's performance.
The 350 passengers faced a five-hour delay while Air New Zealand found a replacement 747, which took off again at 1.30pm.
Air New Zealand gave its eight jumbo jets the all-clear yesterday after it visually inspected each one as they landed around the world in the weekend
The Civil Aviation Authority will investigate both incidents.
CAA spokesperson Bill Sommer said an air accident inspector had inspected the aircraft but had not determined a cause.
Air New Zealand was cleared of blame for a similar incident in May when a 5kg piece of metal broke off a wing of a 767 and smashed through a Manukau warehouse roof.