Faulty equipment downs Qantas jets

[Greg McDonald]

From ninemsn.com.au. Slightly sensationalised headline I think...


QANTAS has been forced to bring down two planes in one day after they suffered equipment failure in mid-flight.

The first incident saw a Qantas flight "piggyback" an Air New Zealand plane and divert to Auckland after its weather antenna stopped working three hours out of Los Angeles.

In a rare and extraordinary sight, passengers awoke to a high-altitude dawn with a close-up view of the Air New Zealand jet off their left wing.

Over 280 passengers on board flight QF12 arrived in Sydney four hours late after repairs to the aircraft in New Zealand.

A Qantas spokesman said passengers were not in danger and the flight continued in safety to New Zealand.

"The weather antenna wasn't working to their full satisfaction," the spokesman said.

"They chose the safest option to divert to Auckland, which had preferable weather to other diversion options, coupled with the fact the Air New Zealand plane was there to provide guidance.

"The aircraft were vertically separated at all time and governed by air traffic control."

The Air New Zealand flight was 35km away from the Qantas plane when the captain made radio contact asking for assistance.

The two planes came within a couple of thousand feet of each other as weather updates from the Air New Zealand flight were relayed across radio to the Qantas plane.

In the time it took to arrive in Auckland, a replacement antenna was flown across the ditch from Sydney and used to repair the faulty antenna.

In a separate incident, a Qantas 767 bound for Sydney was forced to turn back to Melbourne Airport with landing gear problems. Officials said Qantas flight 434 landed safely without incident.

It is understood the drama began when an "unsafe gear" warning sign was triggered, prompting the crew to take precautionary action.