Q.F 819 Cbr to mel 17th march
Under the headline " MID AIR PRAYER " the Herald Sun Melbourne reports today....
" Passengers on a Qantas plane that lurched forward in mid-air yesterday prayed to Saint Patrick to save them .
Flight Q.F 819 from Canberra to Melbourne with 44 passengers turned back to Canberra after the plane experienced mechanical problems after takeoff. A Qantas spokeswomen said engineers would inspect the plane but she would not elaborate on the problem.
Passenger , Professor Robert Pascoe of Victoria University , said the plane lurched heavily. " Everything went very quiet and people started praying to St. Patrick." "
You've gotta love those Irish Saints.! Looks like they saved another 44 pax and crew from certain death !
Seriously though , the lurch forward sounds to me like a fairly rapid power reduction and the " very quiet " is the result of the engines operating on less power in preparation for the return to Canberra. A bit like the sensation you get when speed and height limitations are active ex Sydney Airport.
Obviously some sort of mechanical problem though.
Anyone out there got any real information?