AAP
Qantas jet veers off runway
A Qantas jet veered to the edge of the runway after landing in heavy rain at Darwin airport on Wednesday night, authorities said.
Flight QF 760, had just carried 79 passengers from Adelaide to Darwin, when the incident occurred at around 10pm (CDT).
"After touchdown the aircraft moved to the right hand side of the runway, damaging several runway lights," a Qantas spokeswoman said.
"It was quickly brought back to the centre line of the runway.
"The aircraft stopped on the taxiway and was inspected by the rescue firefighter service."
The Boeing 737-300 was declared safe and the passengers allowed to leave the aircraft.
No-one was injured.
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) said it was investigating the incident.
"At about 10pm a Qantas flight inbound was landing and it hit some runway lights, crept off the runway - we're not 100 per cent sure of the exact details," an ATSB spokesman said.
"We understand there was a fierce storm at the time.
"... It did go onto the grass, the (wheels) went onto the grass."
The ATSB was studying the aircraft's flight data recorder, with the investigation into the incident likely to take several weeks.
The Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) said investigations were underway into the incident.
"It veered off to the right and left the runway," spokesman Peter Gibson told AAP.
However, he said it was unclear whether the aircraft veered onto grass, or onto the taxiway.
There were a number of possible reasons for the incident, Mr Gibson said.
"A wet runway is the obvious first conclusion you might sort of jump to because ... there was rain in the area," he told ABC radio.
"Aquaplaning is one possibility, but there are lots of others."
Darwin runway is grooved, so light rain would not cause aquaplaning, he added.
"It's possible but it could have been a mechanical failure on the aircraft, it could have been a ... sideways gust of wind on the aircraft, a number of factors need to be looked at.
"That's why there ... are three investigations going on into the incident."
Mr Gibson said Qantas had made a number of changes to their procedures for landing in wet conditions since a jet overshot a Bangkok runway three years ago.
In September 1999, a Qantas Boeing 747-400 jet was damaged after it overshot a runway in Bangkok, Thailand, in heavy rain.
"Qantas has made a lot of changes to their procedures ... so therefore they are in a much better position to deal with monsoonal downpours than they may have been in the past.
"Qantas is certainly very well prepared for these sorts of contingencies, something clearly went wrong," Mr Gibson said.
İAAP 2003