We don't have maintenance issues - Qantas

QANTAS has denied it is experiencing systemic maintenance problems after the latest mid-air scare when a jet suffering engine troubles was forced to land in Bangkok.

The incident occurred just hours after another plane plummeted 8000m during an emergency descent.
But the airline has denied its experiencing systemic maintenance problems.

"It's certainly very frustrating because passengers are being affected,'' said Qantas spokesman Tom Woodward.

"We spend $A1.4 billion in maintenance a year, we don't see there are systematic maintenance issues.''

Passengers will spend Australia Day stranded in Bangkok after a Sydney-bound Qantas jet experienced mid-air engine problems about 5.45pm local time (9.45pm AEST) on Tuesday.

The flight crew spotted the problem shortly after take-off.

"One of the engines was consuming fuel more quickly than normal,'' Mr Woodward said.

"Following procedure they took the precautionary decision to return to Bangkok to have the engine inspected.''

The troubled Boeing 747 returned to Bangkok just after 7pm local time

Mr Woodward said another plane would collect the 352 passengers today.

"We're going to need to replace the engine so we're sending an aircraft up from Sydney today carrying a replacement engine,'' he told AAP on Wednesday.

"That aircraft will probably be used to accommodate all the passengers.''

The jet will arrive in Bangkok at 1am local time (5am AEST) and will return to Sydney this afternoon.

"It's very significant delay,'' Mr Woodward said.

"If we can accommodate some passengers on other airlines we'll try. Ultimately they should be back in Sydney tomorrow afternoon.''

Tuesday's incident is the latest in a shocking run for the national carrier.

It came hours after a Qantas jet flying to Melbourne from Adelaide plunged almost 8000m during an emergency descent after its cabin lost pressure.

In November, one of the four Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engines on an Airbus A380 exploded mid-air soon after take-off from Singapore, prompting Qantas to ground its entire A380 fleet.

This cost of this, together with replacing 16 of the A380 engines, has been estimated at $80 million.

The day after the A380 accident, a Qantas 747-400 had a mid-air incident, with flames bursting from an engine just after take-off from Singapore

-------------------------------
Read more Aviation News    http://news.com.au
View Model Aircraft