Close call for QANTAS 747.

[leon]

Not that I know the first thing about aircraft, and/or its manufacturing procedures, isn't it good to have a skilled pilot on board this forum who knows what he is talking about, with out the media crap.

Good one Peter.

Leon

[casstony]

I'm hoping for lots of media horror stories (go Today Tonight) to clear some people out of that airport before I have to fly again. Gee I hate airports (and 747's).

[Peter Ward]

Originally Posted by casstony

Gee I hate airports (and 747's).

While some airports are wanting...( Heathrow...where the superlative ATC is in stark contrast to outstandingly mediocre ground handling, and Mac Bank's all-round Sydney basket-case come to mind) ....wash your mouth!

The B747-400 is one of the finest planes ever built!

[casstony]

Originally Posted by Peter Ward

....wash your mouth!

The B747-400 is one of the finest planes ever built!

Easy for you to say up front there with your recliners and taking turns at napping.

I'd be quite happy to have one parked on a block of land to live in (plenty of room for guests, slides for the kids, cupboard space for astro gear) but stuck back in the cattle truck for flights across the Pacific is torturous. We'll have to make one of our trips to a Buddhist monastery so I can learn to cope better.

[Peter Ward]

Originally Posted by casstony

Easy for you to say up front there with your recliners and taking turns at napping.

Yep, the auto-flight system handled the rapid decompression and diversion to Manila and still allowed the lads to enjoy a nap...but in the end there was too much noise from the inconsiderate hoi polloi in the cabin to sleep, and only enough time to enjoy one cup of earl grey before the gear had to be extended... down right inconvenient.

[garyp]

Originally Posted by Peter Ward

words like "explosion" and "blew-up" sound much more exciting , might even sell a paper or two.

Rather that take the tabloid press as gospel, I'll personally wait until I read the formal inquiry report/Boeing engineering directive.

Good idea. Usually the "real" truth comes out after months of investigating well after all the media hype has died down.

Originally Posted by Peter Ward

The B747-400 is one of the finest planes ever built!

I agree peter. I don't know alot about 747s i particular but I know they have survived some rough treatment over the years.
In the 80s Air China had an incident where it went through some pretty impressive aerobatics with a load of passengers before landing. ( I think I have the facts roughly right. You may know better. I'm just thinking off the top of my head.)
The point is it stayed intact and everyone survived just as with the Qantas incident.

Cheers Gary