Eugene Koh 4 Report post Posted March 23, 2011 Sydney Morning Herald March 24, 2011 Burning smell in the cabin ... an Airbus A330-200. PASSENGERS on a Qantas flight from the Philippines to Sydney yesterday were left terrified after pilots had to put out an electrical fire in the cockpit and the plane was forced to land in Cairns. Small flames on the flight deck of the Airbus A330-200 were initially put out by the automatic safety systems, but within minutes the fire began again, forcing the three pilots, who were wearing oxygen masks, to use an extinguisher. Qantas said the blaze was caused by an electrical problem in the system that heats the windscreen, the same fault that forced a Jetstar A330-200 en route from Japan to Australia to land on the Pacific island of Guam in 2009. Advertisement: Story continues below One of the 147 passengers on board the flight told the Herald the incident had been ''truly scary''. The 56-year-old said: ''There was a burning smell in the cabin that was very strong, and then the captain came over the loudspeaker and explained an electrical problem meant there was a serious risk of fire. Later he explained flames had come back for a second time and they'd had to use a fire extinguisher in the cockpit. ''Whenever you hear a pilot talk about a fire on a plane it's truly scary. Clearly the incident could have been catastrophic.'' But the passenger also praised the captain for his calmness during the situation: ''He was very composed over the loudspeaker and when the plane landed he took the time to walk back and talk to the passengers.'' The fire began at 3.35pm Sydney time. The plane arrived in Cairns 50 minutes later. A Qantas pilot told the Herald last night that such faults were potentially ''very serious''. ''With that electrical malfunction a circuit-breaker system should trip out and the problem go away. That the flames came back means there was another fault,'' he said. ''Any time pilots have to use extinguishers in such a confined area as the cockpit isn't a good situation. They would have had to land the plane at the nearest suitable airport. It sounds like it was potentially a very serious situation.'' A Qantas spokesman praised the pilots and said the airline had notified the Australian Transport Safety Bureau. ''The pilots did a fantastic job to bring the situation under control and calmly redirected the plane to Cairns Airport for a standard, but unscheduled, landing.'' . . I live in Sydney and I avoid Qantas where possible. Of late with the numerous non-stop incidents involving both Qantas and offshoot Jetstar, I start to ponder why no other airlines have this much sagas compared? Maintenance issue or sabotage? Don't shoot me, just curious! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gavin Andrew David 6 Report post Posted March 23, 2011 Perhaps the other airlines cover up well ? but who knows really . But this seems to be a very serious problem ! Fire caused by Window Heat , which is an automated system on this aircraft . Luckily the fire was somewhere they could reach instead of it being somewhere else and causing more irreversible damage mid air Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zamir 0 Report post Posted March 24, 2011 The incident it almost like Swissair Flight 111. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ignatius 4 Report post Posted March 24, 2011 Yet again and again, it was brought under control. Well done to the worlds safest airline despite all the scary, roller coaster, dramatic, horrific, mind blowing and etc.. incidental experience. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Waiping 12 Report post Posted March 24, 2011 Qantas again? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Peter Smith 1 Report post Posted March 24, 2011 Rego was VH-EBL. I love the relationship the media has with the Qantas group. I remember a 30min delay once made the news, it's quite pathetic really. They make even the smallest problem (which no airline is immune from) seem like a wing has fallen off midair! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gavin Andrew David 6 Report post Posted March 24, 2011 Well its typical for the media to blow things out of proportion .... Especially since this airline is in the limelight for all sorts of little incidents in the past 2years was it ? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mohd Suhaimi Fariz 2 Report post Posted March 24, 2011 There had been several similar incidents involving Boeing planes over the years. It's actually scarier because the FAA knows about it but is not trying hard enough to push for a solution! Here's the link about Boeing's problems FAA Ignores Boeing Cockpit Fires Caused By Window Heaters Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hakan 2 Report post Posted March 24, 2011 anyone count the events of Qantas in last two years? I think it should be 8 and the most of them really serious problems. Qantas is very lucky about never loss the plane until today but they are pushing much more their luckies! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
