Engine failure blamed for emergency landing of London-bound 747
Qantas has confirmed that it was forced to abort a flight to London from Bangkok early this morning after one of its Rolls-Royce engines failed mid-flight, in an incident similar to one experienced by Cathay Pacific earlier this week.
Pilots were forced to shut down one of the four Rolls-Royce RB211 engines on the Boeing 747 because of an increase in vibration and high temperatures, a Qantas spokesman said. The aircraft, with 308 passengers onboard, returned safety to Bangkok.
Qantas said it believed the problem was the similar to incidents being experienced by other airlines. On Monday, a Cathay Pacific flight was forced to make an emergency landing in Singapore after the second engine on the Airbus A330 gave a "stall warning" an hour after take-off.
Another Qantas 747 from Sydney to Singapore was forced to shut down on of its four engines mid-flight earlier this month after pilots detected an increase in vibration.
It followed a near-catastrophic explosion on a Qantas A380 late last year. The aircraft was forced to make an emergency landing in Singapore and Qantas temporarily grounded its entire fleet of A380s. An interim report published yesterday the explosion was caused by a manufacturing defect in an oil pipe, which led to an oil leak deep within the Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engine.
The leak sparked a mid-air explosion, shredding part of the wing and causing more than AUS$100m damage to the double-decker aircraft. Qantas was forced to ground its entire fleet of A380s at a cost of $80m, which it is now expected to try to recover from Rolls-Royce.
Referring to the latest incident, which involved a Rolls-Royce RB211 engine, a Qantas spokesman said: "We believe the cause is similar to events that other airlines are experiencing and is subject to an increased monitoring programme from the manufacturer Rolls-Royce."
By TravelMole Reporters
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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