Breaking news - Qantas A380 in trouble near Singapore

[PSi]

Some reports say crash, some say just engine trouble.
Google news for latest.

Qantas says QF32 did not crash. Emergency landing 45 mins out of Changi Airport.

[sheerluck]

Latest I've heard is definitely not a crash, but a (single) major engine failure, with a return to Singapore "as a precaution".

Heard reports of engine parts falling on Indonesia somewhere.

[VladTepes]

A Qantas jet carrying 459 people has made a dramatic emergency landing in Singapore after one of its engines exploded over Indonesia.
The explosion occurred over the Indonesian island of Batam shortly after the Sydney-bound QF32 flight took off from Singapore's Changi Airport on Thursday morning.
Qantas said the Airbus A380 plane's second engine had "shut down".
"In line with procedure, the pilot sought priority clearance for its return to Singapore," Qantas said in a statement.
"The aircraft landed safely at 11.45am local time (1445 AEDT).
"Some media reports suggested the aircraft had crashed.
"These reports are incorrect.
"No Qantas aircraft has crashed."
The plane was carrying 433 passengers and 26 crew, Qantas said.
An Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade spokeswoman said no passengers or crew were injured.
"Australian High Commission staff are on their way to Changi airport to assist passengers if required," she said.
Six fire engines swarmed the aircraft as soon is it landed on the tarmac, according to an AFP reporter at the airport.
"I can see smoke coming out of it," the reporter said.
"One of the engines on the left wing looks blown off. It is black and has jagged edges."
The explosion rained metal debris on a downtown area of Batam but there were no reports of injuries.
Pictures on local television showed the red and white Qantas logo on some of the debris.
The explosion sparked widespread online rumours the plane had crashed but they were soon disproved.
Witnesses said the explosion had been very loud and they had seen flames coming from the plane.
"Before the parts started falling I heard a very loud explosion," one witness, Devi, told the local Antara news agency.
"It sounded like a bomb."
It is believed to be the first time one of the giant, double-decker Airbus planes has experienced a mid-air emergency since its first commercial flight in October 2007.
Since then, fuel and computer glitches have grounded several A380s and at least one Air France flight was forced to turn around and land in New York after problems with its navigation system in November 2009.
Qantas has never suffered a fatal crash.

that last buit is bull**** for a start !

A Qantas A380 passenger jet has landed safely in Singapore after a "mechanical issue" caused part of the engine to fall to the ground.

Pilots on flight QF32, en-route to Sydney, were forced to turn off one of the Airbus A380's four engines but a spokeswoman for Qantas could not say why.

NEWSWATCH: Do you have photos? Do you know anyone on the plane? Contact us online or call the Nine newsroom on 02 9965 2170.

The double-decker plane, carrying 433 passengers and 26 crew, landed safely at Changi Airport at 11.45am local time. All passengers and crew are safe.


"There's definitely been no crash," a Qantas spokeswoman said.

"We're just waiting on a report."

A photograph of the plane on the tarmac at Changi Airport shows the back half engine number two blown off.

Witnesses reported hearing an explosion as the jet flew overhead.

Debris has fallen on the island of Batam, about 20km off Singapore's south coast, where parts of the plane have been found in an industrial area of the island.

Witnesses reported seeing "metal shards coming from the sky" while photographs obtained by Indonesian news agencies show debris with the Qantas logo lying on the ground.


"I didn't see a plane crash but I heard a loud explosion in the air. There were metal shards coming down from the sky into an industrial area in Batam," witness Noor Kanwa told AFP.

Other locals said they weren't sure whether the debris was from the wing or engine, but said some parts were up to 1m long.

"Before the parts started falling I heard a very loud explosion," witness Devi told the local Antara news agency.

"It sounded like a bomb."


Another witness described hearing a screeching sound before the explosion, and said Batam residents came out of their homes to observe the high-tech superjumbo circling as it used up its fuel before attempting to land.

"I was driving near a residential estate when suddenly I heard a thunderous braking sound," 35-year-old driver Ricky, 35, said.

"I thought it was an explosion but when I looked up I saw a plane going round and round and there was smoke coming out of its tail.

"Then three or four pieces of metal fell from the sky ... they fell into a field," he added.

"Dozens of residents rushed out of their homes to see what was going on. They looked excited. In Batam it's common to see planes taking off from Singapore and flying over us. But we didn't expect to see something like this."

Batam police officer Bobby Baharudin said debris was "scattered over Batam".

"Most of it fell in residential areas. There's a part that looks like a door and shards of aluminum," he said.

Six fire engines immediately surrounded the aircraft as soon as it landed on the tarmac, spraying it with brown liquid.

"I can see smoke coming out of it," an AFP reporter said.

"One of the engines on the left wing looks blown off. It is black and has jagged edges."

Police Col Eka Yudha was quoted on Indonesia's TVOne as saying the plane, capable of carrying up to 500 passengers, began dumping fuel before attempting an emergency landing.

The incident is the first mid-air emergency involving the giant, double-decker Airbus plane which made it's first commercial flight operated by Singapore Airlines on the same Singapore-Sydney route in October 2007.

Since then, fuel and computer glitches have grounded several A380s and at least one Air France flight was forced to turn around and land in New York after problems with its navigation system in November 2009.

Anyone concerned for the welfare of family or friends on board Qantas flight 32 from Singapore to Sydney are advised to try to contact them directly.

DFAT has also set up a hotline on 1300 555 135

Some of that can obviously be taken with a pacific ocean full of salt !

DFAT will set up a hotline for anything now, apparently.

[sheerluck]

There's pics now on the Courier Mail website. The plane looks a little sorry for itself with most of the back half of an engine cowling in bits, a small amount of damage to the wing skin itself, and what to the untrained eye looks like engine parts scattered over part of Batam.

And I think the article should have made the statement "Qantas have never suffered a fatal jet airliner crash", being as the last one was a de Havilland in 1951.

[85 county]

picture 11 & 12 are tubine , hot end. there is a video floating around on how RR make these, single crystal molding.

[flagg]

"Safety will not be compromised in any way" - Qantas maintenance chief David Cox

[rockyroad]

A brand new airbus 380, mmmmm gonna be interesting.

[101RRS]

A brand new airbus 380, mmmmm gonna be interesting.

Well not quite - that aircraft has been flying commercially since 2007.

[THE BOOGER]

Seems the media in singapore is about the same as ours to get some of those photos they would have to have collected all the outer panels and put them in one place to make a good photo as they would have floated down all over batam. On a plane that age turbine failure is a bit premature so airbus or RR might have some explaining to do wonder how many hrs up on that engine

[sheerluck]

Well not quite - that aircraft has been flying commercially since 2007.

The particular bird that's broken (VH-OQA - Nancy-Bird Walton) was completed on August 19th 2008 and operated it's first flight for Qantas on 24th October 2008.

So compared to some of the old knackers that Qantas have, this one is just about brand new.

(Just hope that Qantas took out the extended warranty )