Another AirTransat Fuel Leak-L1011
Guest
Posts: n/a
Another AirTransat Fuel Leak-L1011
Just caught the arse end of a news brief on the CBC about an L1011 AirTransat flight with fuel pouring out of the wing. First spotted by Pax and brought to the attention of flight crew. Pax in airport got some great footage from the gate. BIG LEAK. 
Update: Flight from YYZ to Paris.
[ 09 September 2001: Message edited by: Apollo ]
Update: Flight from YYZ to Paris.
[ 09 September 2001: Message edited by: Apollo ]
Eight Gun Fighter
Join Date: Apr 2000
Location: Western Approaches
Posts: 1,126
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Globe and Mail Update and Canadian Press
An Air Transat passenger said he had to alert the crew of a fuel leak before a takeoff in Toronto in a weekend that saw two other flights from Montreal delayed on Friday.
Air Transat, which on Saturday announced that it will hire nine more inspectors, said
Sunday that it wasn’t a passenger who spotted
the leak on the flight enroute to Paris on
Saturday night. A man videotaped the leak, CTV news reported. "We would have noticed that before the passenger, that's for sure," Sophie Lussier, an Air Transat spokeswoman told CTV. She said the airline chose to switch planes as a safety precaution. "A guy at the back started shouting ... and he seemed to get more and more upset," Simon Andrew, one of the passengers, told CTV's Newsnet. "I wasn't quite sure what was going on and then I heard from someone that fuel was spilling out of the plane and I thought it would be just like a little dribble or something." The leak was responsible for a change of planes for Air Transat Flight 288 Mr. Andrew videotaped the scene. "It was sort of like somebody got a hose from a gas station and was just spraying it all over the tarmac," Mr. Andrew said. "It was all kind of surreal, really."
Air Transat decided to hire the inspectors for its aircraft-inspection division to reassure passengers, company spokewoman Seychelle Harding said. "It's not because we don't already have enough inspectors, but recent talks with Transport Canada have led us to agree to hire nine more," Ms. Harding
said. "That means we'll almost have one for every plane."
Air Transat currently operates 24 aircraft, including Lockheeds, Airbuses and Boeings, she said. The number of inspectors an airline company employs is not regulated by Transport Canada, she said. "It's up to the company to decide. We just wanted our passengers to feel
more secure."
The beleaguered airline's reputation took another hit on Friday night as two flights had significant delays. A 9:30 p.m. flight to Paris stopping at Quebec City was delayed by nine hours after the plane returned to Mirabel 15 minutes after takeoff when an indicator showed one of the landing-gear doors wasn't closing properly.
Another flight of the Montreal-based charter airline, scheduled to fly direct to Paris at 11 p.m. on Friday, was delayed by about five hours after a maintenance vehicle collided with the plane's right engine, damaging its hood. "It wasn't anything serious, but we ended up flying those passengers out on another plane about 4:30 a.m.," Ms. Harding said Saturday of the later flight. That other plane was, in fact, the Lockheed whose indicator light showed a problem with the landing-gear doors. "There wasn't anything wrong with the landing gear. It was just the indicator light that was faulty," Ms. Harding said. "When an indicator light goes on, we always have to turn back and investigate." Another plane was brought in for the passengers of the flight originally
scheduled to leave at 9:30 p.m., she said.
The planes involved were both Lockheed L-1011-150s, Ms. Harding said. About 300 passengers in total were inconvenienced. Reassuring the public of the safety of Air Transat flights has been a preoccupation since one of its jets lost power over the Atlantic on Aug. 24.
Shares of Montreal-based Transat A.T. Inc., Air Transat's parent, fell 62 Canadian cents, or 6.9 per cent, to $8.35 in Toronto on Friday.
An Air Transat passenger said he had to alert the crew of a fuel leak before a takeoff in Toronto in a weekend that saw two other flights from Montreal delayed on Friday.
Air Transat, which on Saturday announced that it will hire nine more inspectors, said
Sunday that it wasn’t a passenger who spotted
the leak on the flight enroute to Paris on
Saturday night. A man videotaped the leak, CTV news reported. "We would have noticed that before the passenger, that's for sure," Sophie Lussier, an Air Transat spokeswoman told CTV. She said the airline chose to switch planes as a safety precaution. "A guy at the back started shouting ... and he seemed to get more and more upset," Simon Andrew, one of the passengers, told CTV's Newsnet. "I wasn't quite sure what was going on and then I heard from someone that fuel was spilling out of the plane and I thought it would be just like a little dribble or something." The leak was responsible for a change of planes for Air Transat Flight 288 Mr. Andrew videotaped the scene. "It was sort of like somebody got a hose from a gas station and was just spraying it all over the tarmac," Mr. Andrew said. "It was all kind of surreal, really."
Air Transat decided to hire the inspectors for its aircraft-inspection division to reassure passengers, company spokewoman Seychelle Harding said. "It's not because we don't already have enough inspectors, but recent talks with Transport Canada have led us to agree to hire nine more," Ms. Harding
said. "That means we'll almost have one for every plane."
Air Transat currently operates 24 aircraft, including Lockheeds, Airbuses and Boeings, she said. The number of inspectors an airline company employs is not regulated by Transport Canada, she said. "It's up to the company to decide. We just wanted our passengers to feel
more secure."
The beleaguered airline's reputation took another hit on Friday night as two flights had significant delays. A 9:30 p.m. flight to Paris stopping at Quebec City was delayed by nine hours after the plane returned to Mirabel 15 minutes after takeoff when an indicator showed one of the landing-gear doors wasn't closing properly.
Another flight of the Montreal-based charter airline, scheduled to fly direct to Paris at 11 p.m. on Friday, was delayed by about five hours after a maintenance vehicle collided with the plane's right engine, damaging its hood. "It wasn't anything serious, but we ended up flying those passengers out on another plane about 4:30 a.m.," Ms. Harding said Saturday of the later flight. That other plane was, in fact, the Lockheed whose indicator light showed a problem with the landing-gear doors. "There wasn't anything wrong with the landing gear. It was just the indicator light that was faulty," Ms. Harding said. "When an indicator light goes on, we always have to turn back and investigate." Another plane was brought in for the passengers of the flight originally
scheduled to leave at 9:30 p.m., she said.
The planes involved were both Lockheed L-1011-150s, Ms. Harding said. About 300 passengers in total were inconvenienced. Reassuring the public of the safety of Air Transat flights has been a preoccupation since one of its jets lost power over the Atlantic on Aug. 24.
Shares of Montreal-based Transat A.T. Inc., Air Transat's parent, fell 62 Canadian cents, or 6.9 per cent, to $8.35 in Toronto on Friday.
