Qantas jet forced to turn back after hydraulic leak
SYDNEY, Aug 2, 2008 (AFP)
A Qantas 767 was forced to return to Sydney shortly after take off
Saturday when the pilot detected a hydraulic leak in the wing, the
airline said, denying reports the jet made an emergency landing.
In the third safety scare involving Qantas aircraft in just over a
week, the airline said the Manila-bound flight with 200 passengers on
board landed at Sydney Airport about 3:00pm after the problem was
detected.
“It landed without incident after the captain became aware that the
aircraft had a hydraulic leak,” a Qantas spokeswoman told AFP.
“It was not an emergency landing.”
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Sky News Australia and
Australian Associated Press all reported the incident involved an
emergency landing.
The Qantas spokeswoman said fire engines were on standby on the
tarmac as a precaution but the passengers, who have since left for
Manila on a replacement aircraft, were never in any danger.
She said the pilot made the determination about whether or not a
landing qualified as an emergency and reports he requested a priority
landing in Sydney were incorrect.
Civil Aviation Safety Authority’s Peter Gibson said air traffic
controllers on the ground in Sydney initially spotted the problem.
“Air traffic control noticed what they thought was smoke coming from
the back of the aircraft,” he told Channel Nine television.
“What it turned out to be was a hydraulic leak of hydraulic fluid
coming out of the hydraulic system creating a fine spray at the back of
the aircraft that looked like smoke.”
On July 25, a Qantas Boeing 747-400 en route to Melbourne from Hong
Kong made an emergency landing in Manila after a blast believed to have
been caused by an exploding oxygen cylinder ripped a large hole in its
fuselage.
Then last Monday, a Qantas 737-800 was forced to return to Adelaide
after a landing gear door failed to retract. |