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Jan. 10th, 2008 07:42 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
khiemtranQF2 suffers total power failure fifteen minutes from Bangkok.
QF2 is the return leg of the "Kangaroo route", from Sydney to London (QF1 is the away leg). The 747-400 lost all generators fifteen minutes from landing, with a battery backup system that could have lasted a minimum of 30 minutes. After that they would have lost almost all instruments and even radar.
"THE potentially disastrous power failure on a Qantas flight carrying 344 passengers above Bangkok was caused by a blocked sink in a galley, the agency investigating the incident said yesterday."
"Caused by" seems a bit glib here. The real underlying cause seems to be a failure to reinstall a waterproof barrier during maintenance.
This is quite alarming because the one thing Qantas has/had going for it was its strong engineering culture. Heavens knows it wasn't customer service. On my last two long haul Qantas flights, the planes have been delayed both times due to technical problems. Qantas is currently involved in a pay dispute with its engineers and has been looking outsource and cut costs just about everywhere.
Hopefully, the QF2 incident will be something of a wake-up call.
QF2 is the return leg of the "Kangaroo route", from Sydney to London (QF1 is the away leg). The 747-400 lost all generators fifteen minutes from landing, with a battery backup system that could have lasted a minimum of 30 minutes. After that they would have lost almost all instruments and even radar.
"THE potentially disastrous power failure on a Qantas flight carrying 344 passengers above Bangkok was caused by a blocked sink in a galley, the agency investigating the incident said yesterday."
"Caused by" seems a bit glib here. The real underlying cause seems to be a failure to reinstall a waterproof barrier during maintenance.
This is quite alarming because the one thing Qantas has/had going for it was its strong engineering culture. Heavens knows it wasn't customer service. On my last two long haul Qantas flights, the planes have been delayed both times due to technical problems. Qantas is currently involved in a pay dispute with its engineers and has been looking outsource and cut costs just about everywhere.
Hopefully, the QF2 incident will be something of a wake-up call.
