So are payouts to grieving widows. And the bad publicity is even worse. When will the suits get it right.
Hmm.
So, some “anonymous” Qantas pilot claims Malasia maintains the aircraft…and Malaysia claims (backed up by Qantas) that NO 747’s are maintained in Malaysia.
Then, it comes out the last maintenance period they found a LOT of corrosion in that area.
Maybe they missed some, eh?
Dave,
without being disrespectful, Qantas took a decision to have an aircraft back in the 1970’s, overhauled by a major U.S. contractor. Well unfortunately the result was such that they then kept maintenance ‘inhouse’ for years until the company (then government owned) was privatised (mid-1980’s) and had public shareholders. In the 1970’s I worked daily on aircraft from PanAm and Continental and several other ‘major’ U.S. operators and I am able to say that, at the time, maintenance was definately not a priority for American operators. I used to shudder at the things that I saw. Well, along came Asian airlines and my jaw dropped even lower. The Asianse were using older aircraft that had seen better days. I know all about maintenance issues in Malaysia (was a joke when I was still working - maintenance carried out with the stroke of a pen, cheap and quick. The problem was that the licenced engineers did not trust the indigenous staff to touch the aircraft for fear of them breaking something). No doubt things have changed. No doubt, I am sure.
The problem is that towards the end of my 'working life' environmental issues were at the forefront and simply paint stripping an aircraft for a repaint had to be done overseas (China), as local environmental restrictions were too strict. British Airways used to hand paint their aircraft with brooms, as spray guns were environmentally unfriendly. For several years, we were regularly flying aircraft to London on regular services. The aircraft was then flown empty to Dublin, where maintenance was carried out and then the aircraft returned to London to resume its normal service to Sydney. Somedays I would go home simply staggered at what I had seen. People discredit the trucking industry for lax maintenance procedures. In 35 years I saw jaw dropping incidents. A Concorde returned from Auckland, New Zealand, with most of its rudder missing. Surprisingly, the pilots did not even know it was gone. Several U.S. operators lost undercarriage legs on arrival and one operator lost an entire flap assembly on approach to Sydney. One German freight haulage contractor airline arrived with several brake assemblies missing. Apparently they were leaking and no spares so jthey ust removed them. A Eastern bloc country airline arrived with aircraft seats routinely strapped down with cargo restraint straps. These are just a handful of surprises.Tim Brien said:
Dave, without being disrespectful, Qantas took a decision to have an aircraft back in the 1970's, overhauled by a major U.S. contractor. Well unfortunately the result was such that they then kept maintenance 'inhouse' for years until the company (then government owned) was privatised (mid-1980's) and had public shareholders. In the 1970's I worked daily on aircraft from PanAm and Continental and several other 'major' U.S. operators and I am able to say that, at the time, maintenance was definately not a priority for American operators. I used to shudder at the things that I saw. Well, along came Asian airlines and my jaw dropped even lower. The Asianse were using older aircraft that had seen better days. I know all about maintenance issues in Malaysia (was a joke when I was still working - maintenance carried out with the stroke of a pen, cheap and quick. The problem was that the licenced engineers did not trust the indigenous staff to touch the aircraft for fear of them breaking something). No doubt things have changed. No doubt, I am sure.The problem is that towards the end of my 'working life' environmental issues were at the forefront and simply paint stripping an aircraft for a repaint had to be done overseas (China), as local environmental restrictions were too strict. British Airways used to hand paint their aircraft with brooms, as spray guns were environmentally unfriendly. For several years, we were regularly flying aircraft to London on regular services. The aircraft was then flown empty to Dublin, where maintenance was carried out and then the aircraft returned to London to resume its normal service to Sydney. Somedays I would go home simply staggered at what I had seen. People discredit the trucking industry for lax maintenance procedures. In 35 years I saw jaw dropping incidents. A Concorde returned from Auckland, New Zealand, with most of its rudder missing. Surprisingly, the pilots did not even know it was gone. Several U.S. operators lost undercarriage legs on arrival and one operator lost an entire flap assembly on approach to Sydney. One German freight haulage contractor airline arrived with several brake assemblies missing. Apparently they were leaking and no spares so jthey ust removed them. A Eastern bloc country airline arrived with aircraft seats routinely strapped down with cargo restraint straps. These are just a handful of surprises.</blockquote>What’s that got to do with anything?
Public reporting, an anonymous Qantas pilot claims Qantas 747’s are maintained in Malaysia.
Both Malaysia and Qantas state NO 747’s are maintained in Malaysia.You are saying that is not correct?
That the Malaysian Govenment and Qantas are lying?Interesting.
Dave,
Probably both.
Qantas regularly tell lies about all sorts of things.
Anything to try and stay in business.
A friend of mine flies for the Qantas subsidiary, Jet Star.
His off the record comments about iffy airline maintenance would make anyone shudder.
The Malaysian Government has again told horrendous lies about the leader of their political opposition to keep him and his party out of power.
I know at least one news bulletin has aired Qantas claims that this particular aircraft was never serviced outside of Australia. Since I don’t trust the media (one Web news source called this 747 “doomed” in a headline, a bit much when it landed safely with no injuries), I don’t know if those claims are accurate, or even if Qantas actually made them.
I know the Australian engineers’ union has been locked in a protracted pay dispute with Qantas which led the company to consider bringing in engineers on contract from New Zealand. I don’t know if Qantas actually brought anyone in.
Had I been on that plane, I would not have cared where it had been serviced. I would have been just as happy with the Qantas pilot as I was with the United pilot who aborted a landing at La Guardia during a thunderstorm because what he saw ahead of him didn’t match what the control tower was telling him.
I know that Qantas has a reputation second to none for passenger safety. I fervently hope they maintain it, especially while Kay and I are flying with Qantas and its partner airlines in September - October.
We were playing war games off Hawaii in '65.
An Ozzie cruiser decided to play with us.
After the USS Sea Dragon sank us, she promptly sank the Ozzie.
Needless to say, the *USS Kearsarge didn’t win any "E"s that year for war-games, but us Snipes collected a red “E” for engineering. Happily painted it on the stack. And painted over the white “E” from the previous year.
*We were supposed to be an Anti-Sub Carrier. 
From memory, was not an Australian warship involved in a fatal collision with an American destroyer off Vietnam in the early 1970’s? Who needs torpedoes?
Who needed a jinxed Ex-Brit flattop that seemed to have an inclination for chopping smaller craft in two?
I believe the quote of the OOD at his court martial was, “It’s too close for a maneuvering board solution, we’ll have to eyeball it in!”
Consequently, My CO had a standing order when we were within sight of a birdfarm. “If that big SOB does anything that you don’t understand, turn and run away, then call me.” :lol:
Ah yes, the venerable HMAS Melbourne, pride of the fleet. 1964 took out one of its own, HMAS Voyager. Had a good track record as a troopship, until the scrapper’s torch did its work.
"Spitfires were flimsy wooden aircraft … "
Errrrr
The exceptionally well streamlined semi-monocoque duralumin fuselage featured a large number of compound curves and was built up from a skeleton of 19 frames, starting from the main engine bulkhead, or frame number one. Aft of the engine bulkhead were five half frames to accommodate the fuel tanks and cockpit. From the seventh, which was the frame to which the pilot’s seat and (later) armour plating was attached, to the 15th, which was mounted at a forward angle just forward of the tailfin, the frames were oval in shape, each reducing slightly in size, and had numerous holes drilled through them to lighten the structural weight as much as possible without weakening them. Frame 16 formed a double bulkhead with frame 17, which was extended to form the main spar of the vertical fin; frame 18 formed the secondary spar. Just aft of this the 19th frame formed the rudder post. A combination of 14 longitudinal stringers and two main longerons helped form a light but rigid structure to which sheets of alclad stressed skinning were attached.
Stressed skin constuction… Metal
Perhaps our erstwhile contributor was thinking of the Hawker Hurricane.
That had a doped linen covering until April 1939.
Although it was stretched over a metal framework.
Gee, all the Spitfires that I built as a kid were flimsy wooden aircraft covered with doped tissue paper… :lol:
Quote:
"Spitfires were flimsy wooden aircraft … "
Yeah, so was the Mosquito, dam thing was made out of cheap plywood, PLYWOOD! not all-metal like any self respecting American plane, no, its a cheapskate British plane, doesnt matter that it was considered one of the highest performance aircraft of the era and was beloved by its crews, feared by the Luftwaft and was considered one of the most versitale planes ever built, naw, its that wood construction…
(http://www.bawdeswell.net/rtwebsite/villages/Bawdeswell/Baw%20Ch/Mosquito%20Aircraft.JPG)
Thanks Steve, thats an amazingly devistating weapons systom, I was also interested in this one: http://newstalk590.com/cc-common/news/videos/player.html?loc=0&pimg=&count=3&redir=yes
(http://orionwell.files.wordpress.com/2007/10/space-alien.thumbnail.jpg)
Either we are alone in the universe, or we are not. Either way, it gives me pause.
BTW, I spoke to Elvis last night… 
Mebbe Tony, but it sure was nt flimsy…