Qantas 744 Depressurisation
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Cheshire
Age: 78
Posts: 506
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
MOBLIE phones . . . . . . . . ?
Funny how all the pictures on the TV show people filming the flight with mobile phones. Clearly they all had time to get THEIR phones out, switch them on and start taking pictures ????
real stupid uninformed journalism
Join Date: May 2007
Location: SE England
Posts: 88
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
No Step
Looking at the high detail photo of the breach, is that the head of a golf putter I can see in the lower right of the hole?
It's gold coloured and has a large 'S' engraved on it.
Looks like a NO STEP decal to me.
It's gold coloured and has a large 'S' engraved on it.
Looks like a NO STEP decal to me.
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: Dubai
Posts: 61
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Structure Failure
In my 38 years as an engineer on Boeing, one thing we have learned is that cracks on structure that is hidden from view from normal inspection fail dramatically. Lap joints on Boeings are a major concern. This Qantas aircraft structure has failed at one such Lap joint, as is clear from the photograph. This area is hidden behind a fuselage fairing that gets opened once in 18 months. Cracks progress over rivet lines and in my aviation carrier I have seen hair line cracks as long as 24 inches and fuselage has not failed like in this incident. So this one must have remained out of sight for a long time. (Remember Aloha 737.)
One has to be patient for the experts to complete their assessment. Jumping to conclusions is amateurish. Some of the posts I have seen are hilarious to say the least.
1. Fuselage fairing failed first!!! It is clear that Fuselage skin popped out with an explosive force. A fiber glass fairing came in the way & it had no chance of holding on. So that was a secondary failure. It will be of ineterst here that when fully pressurised, fuselage skin 1ft x 1ft has a force of half a tonne on it. You can calculate the force on the skin on this failed area.
2. Oxygen bottle exploded!!! There will be a huge fire if that happens. There is no report of that in this case. Again oxygen bottles are not in this area.
The only possible human induced cause in this incident is an explosion of some sort or shifting cargo that made a small damage that resulted in a big failure when aircraft got pressurized fully at high altitude.
One has to be patient for the experts to complete their assessment. Jumping to conclusions is amateurish. Some of the posts I have seen are hilarious to say the least.
1. Fuselage fairing failed first!!! It is clear that Fuselage skin popped out with an explosive force. A fiber glass fairing came in the way & it had no chance of holding on. So that was a secondary failure. It will be of ineterst here that when fully pressurised, fuselage skin 1ft x 1ft has a force of half a tonne on it. You can calculate the force on the skin on this failed area.
2. Oxygen bottle exploded!!! There will be a huge fire if that happens. There is no report of that in this case. Again oxygen bottles are not in this area.
The only possible human induced cause in this incident is an explosion of some sort or shifting cargo that made a small damage that resulted in a big failure when aircraft got pressurized fully at high altitude.
Join Date: May 2007
Location: SE England
Posts: 88
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Dense white fog
I was on a Trident 
way back when on a pressurisation check.(On ground of course) We were at max diff checking the first safety valve when by esteemed colleague let go of the wrong switch. This resulted in popped ears a dense white fog and the airframe fitter appearing through the fog with the safety valve collar in his hand ready to clout said esteemed person on the bonce. Switch set the other way and popped ears again! (Yes you do get white fog!-and red mist....)
way back when on a pressurisation check.(On ground of course) We were at max diff checking the first safety valve when by esteemed colleague let go of the wrong switch. This resulted in popped ears a dense white fog and the airframe fitter appearing through the fog with the safety valve collar in his hand ready to clout said esteemed person on the bonce. Switch set the other way and popped ears again! (Yes you do get white fog!-and red mist....)
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Esher, Surrey
Posts: 466
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Before Longreach was adopted
Longreach - I believe Longreach is the generic name given to all QF 747-400's, just as SIA called their first 747-300's "Big Top ". and their -400's Mega Top. QF delivered their first - 400 non-stop LHR - SYD which is a long reach.
( Sorry if the memory has made a few errors - happy to be corrected
( Sorry if the memory has made a few errors - happy to be corrected
The original marketing name was "Stretched Upper Deck"
Fortunately, very late in the day, this was abandoned.
Fortunately - because someone pointed out that it was a very very very bad idea and they should check out the abreviation SUD in medical terms.
Longreach was later adopted and all the PR speak followed.
Jerry,
It looks like a rupture from the inside out rather than something hitting the aircraft from the outside in (e.g.'space debris' as you suggested) is what I was pointing out
It looks like a rupture from the inside out rather than something hitting the aircraft from the outside in (e.g.'space debris' as you suggested) is what I was pointing out
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Downunder
Age: 74
Posts: 257
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Originally Posted by Desk Jockey
Looks like a NO STEP decal to me.
To me it looks like the "S" is the FIRST letter on the decal or whatever.
Immediately before the "S" I can see white, and before the white, a splodge of green......
SpannerTwister
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Yorkshire
Posts: 24
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Wing damage
Just a quick footnote. NTSB Press release says: "The aircraft has a 5 foot hole in the cargo area forward of the right wing leading edge and there is also some wing damage." Press Advisory
These two low-res photos are the only ones I could find showing the wing:
Manila, lo squarcio nell'aereo - Galleria - Repubblica.it
Manila, lo squarcio nell'aereo - Galleria - Repubblica.it
Not much to see. Maybe it's just a reference to the wing-to-body fairing.
These two low-res photos are the only ones I could find showing the wing:
Manila, lo squarcio nell'aereo - Galleria - Repubblica.it
Manila, lo squarcio nell'aereo - Galleria - Repubblica.it
Not much to see. Maybe it's just a reference to the wing-to-body fairing.
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: WGS 84
Posts: 238
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I was on a Trident way back when on a pressurisation check.(On ground of course) We were at max diff checking the first safety valve when by esteemed colleague let go of the wrong switch. This resulted in popped ears a dense white fog
way back when on a pressurisation check.(On ground of course) We were at max diff checking the first safety valve when by esteemed colleague let go of the wrong switch. This resulted in popped ears a dense white fog
Join Date: Dec 1999
Location: Wilmslow and North Yorks
Age: 53
Posts: 402
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Daily Telegraph
Sensationalistic nonsense from the Telegraph this morning...
Apparently the pilots "fought for control" "managed to right the aircraft but not before it had lost 19000 feet" "bravely avoided the local primary school" (ok i made the last one up but it's about the only thing missing!)
Why is it that when an incident like this occurs it's totally beyond the British press to report it correctly...is a de-pressurisation followed by an emergency descent and landing not exciting enough for them?
Idiots.
Apparently the pilots "fought for control" "managed to right the aircraft but not before it had lost 19000 feet" "bravely avoided the local primary school" (ok i made the last one up but it's about the only thing missing!)
Why is it that when an incident like this occurs it's totally beyond the British press to report it correctly...is a de-pressurisation followed by an emergency descent and landing not exciting enough for them?
Idiots.
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Esher, Surrey
Posts: 466
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Latest BBC item
Includes....
"Qantas chief executive Geoff Dixon said he was "horrified" after seeing pictures of the hole and said there was no indication of corrosion.
"Our preliminary checks on this indicate there was no corrosion anywhere near where this hole occurred in the aircraft," he told ABC news in Australia. "We really can't speculate on how this happened or causes, but certainly there's going to be a very thorough investigation."
BBC NEWS | World | Asia-Pacific | Engineers examine plane for clues
"Qantas chief executive Geoff Dixon said he was "horrified" after seeing pictures of the hole and said there was no indication of corrosion.
"Our preliminary checks on this indicate there was no corrosion anywhere near where this hole occurred in the aircraft," he told ABC news in Australia. "We really can't speculate on how this happened or causes, but certainly there's going to be a very thorough investigation."
BBC NEWS | World | Asia-Pacific | Engineers examine plane for clues
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Australia
Posts: 17
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Hotel Mode
So meteorites now suddenly know the plane's heading?? Do you think they always come straight from the top and the front? So Mr. Physics Professor, think before posting s@*&id comments.
Warning Toxic!
Disgusted of Tunbridge
Disgusted of Tunbridge
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Hampshire, UK
Posts: 4,011
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
OK then JerryB, after carrying out an atmospheric re-entry, a Slazenger golf driver with a large 'S' on the end zapped into the freight hold and killed a horse that was in there (according to someone else). After all, it was heading SE and things re-enter from the west! BTW, are you any older than 14?
Shall we leave it to professionals to discuss?
I am intrigued at the relatively low altitude of failure. I can't remember with a -400 when the cabin hits max differential pressure. If it was much less than 8.6psi, then the failure would seem to have occurred rather surprisingly early. It would seem to be very well handled by the crew with very stoic passengers- how nice not to hear about screaming and loud prayers! This is certainly not a very hazardous and 'lucky to be alive'/'miraculous' incident as is being painted, but nevertheless extremley competently handled all around. It is good to see how procedures and professionalism being displayed by the whole crew instills confidence in the passengers and results in a textbook ending. I suspect this incident will be examined in CRM matters.
Shall we leave it to professionals to discuss?
I am intrigued at the relatively low altitude of failure. I can't remember with a -400 when the cabin hits max differential pressure. If it was much less than 8.6psi, then the failure would seem to have occurred rather surprisingly early. It would seem to be very well handled by the crew with very stoic passengers- how nice not to hear about screaming and loud prayers! This is certainly not a very hazardous and 'lucky to be alive'/'miraculous' incident as is being painted, but nevertheless extremley competently handled all around. It is good to see how procedures and professionalism being displayed by the whole crew instills confidence in the passengers and results in a textbook ending. I suspect this incident will be examined in CRM matters.
Last edited by Rainboe; 26th Jul 2008 at 10:14.
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Out there
Posts: 293
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Engineers investigate stricken Qantas jet
July 26, 2008 - 8:55AM
Source: ABC
A team from the Australian Transport Safety Bureau will arrive in the Philippines today to examine a Qantas plane that made an emergency landing when part of its fuselage blew out.
The Boeing 747 jumbo jet was en route to Melbourne from London when a section of the cargo bay was ripped open.
The pilot made an emergency landing at Manila's Ninoy Aquino international airport, and all 349 passengers were flown to Melbourne this morning.
Attention is now turning to the maintenance record of the 17-year-old plane, amid newspaper reports that a large amount of corrosion was found during a major refurbishment of the aircraft in March.
Qantas is yet to respond to the newspaper reports.
Ian Brokenshire from the Transport Safety Bureau says four investigators will look into the cause of the incident.
"They will start to investigate the damage and investigate the maintenance records and other aspects of the flight, including flight data recorded and cockpit voice recorder," he said.
July 26, 2008 - 8:55AM
Source: ABC
A team from the Australian Transport Safety Bureau will arrive in the Philippines today to examine a Qantas plane that made an emergency landing when part of its fuselage blew out.
The Boeing 747 jumbo jet was en route to Melbourne from London when a section of the cargo bay was ripped open.
The pilot made an emergency landing at Manila's Ninoy Aquino international airport, and all 349 passengers were flown to Melbourne this morning.
Attention is now turning to the maintenance record of the 17-year-old plane, amid newspaper reports that a large amount of corrosion was found during a major refurbishment of the aircraft in March.
Qantas is yet to respond to the newspaper reports.
Ian Brokenshire from the Transport Safety Bureau says four investigators will look into the cause of the incident.
"They will start to investigate the damage and investigate the maintenance records and other aspects of the flight, including flight data recorded and cockpit voice recorder," he said.