Qantas

:QF may also mean Quick firing in British artillery terminology.

Incidents and accidents

It is often claimed, most notably in the movie Rain Man, that Qantas has never had a fatal crash. However, the company's official line is that it has never lost a jet aircraft. Prior to the jet era, Qantas had fatal crashes. One was on 16 July 1951, when De Havilland Drover VH-EBQ crashed in New Guinea after an engine failure, killing all 7 passengers and crew. Other fatal accidents occurred in 1927, 1934, 1942, 1943 (2), and 1944.

Related Topics:
Rain Man - 16 July - 1951 - De Havilland

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Qantas' record in the jet era was spotless until Boeing 747-400 VH-OJH over-ran the runway by 220 metres while landing in a rainstorm at Bangkok in 1999. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/456110.stm There were no fatalities; however, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau criticised numerous inadequacies in Qantas' operational and training processes. http://www.atsb.gov.au/atsb/media/mrel008.cfm Repairs to the nine-year-old aircraft cost in excess of A$100 million and it was suggested at the time that this expense was to solely avoid a hull-loss being recorded, a claim Qantas denied. The following year 747-300 VH-EBW was damaged when its landing gear collapsed while taxiing at Rome. It also returned to service after repairs.

Related Topics:
Bangkok - 1999 - Rome

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The most recent incident was on 21 August 2005 and involved Qantas Airbus A330-300 VH-QPE with 178 passengers and 13 crew aboard. The aircraft made an emergency landing at Kansai Airport in Osaka, Japan after an indication of smoke in the cargo hold. The Osaka Control Tower reported seeing smoke on landing so an emergency evacuation was declared as a precaution and emergency slides were deployed. 9 passengers were injured and hospitalised. The aircraft was since inspected but no signs of smoke or fire were found. It is believed that the cargo fire sensors were faulty and caused an inaccurate reading. The aircraft was only 15 months old at the time of the incident.

Related Topics:
21 August - 2005 - Kansai Airport - Osaka - Japan

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~