Over four hundred passengers and crew came perilously close to death when near disaster happened in the skies over Indonesia.
Qantas flight QF32 was an almost new Airbus A 380, the biggest passenger aircraft type in the world - when an engine exploded and speared shrapnel through the wing section. Miraculously - there was no fire despite these shards rupturing control lines that prevented the other undamaged engine on that side of the plane from being shutdown - and the full fuel tanks bursting into flames.
The crew performed according to their training, dumped fuel and safely returned the aircraft to Singapore - and now the enquiry is under way.
The incident is a blow to Airbus. The A 380 is the flagship of their fleet and the last thing they need is a doubt over it's safety. Qantas acted magnificently and passengers praised their calm and cool handling of a dangerous situation.
The other loser is Rolls Royce. This prestigious company manufactured the BR 211 engines fitted to the A 380 and doubts are emerging about their function. Whispers of previous " problems " with these engines will not instill confidence in passenger minds.
The best that can be said is that Airbus, Rolls Royce, Qantas - and all those passengers and crew - had a close call from which they emerged safely. Now it is up to the boffins to figure out just what went wrong - and make the necessary corrections to see that it doesn't happen again.
Perhaps this one could be chalked up to Mary McKillop !
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