FED-EX Engine damage on landing YSSY

[Philip Argy]

I noticed 604 on the General Aviation apron this morning - seemingly fixed?

[Nigel C]

It was, but the tug that towed it to the international this afternoon sprung a coolant leak just as it was crossing Rwy 16R, thus resulting in the runway being closed for a short time for the recovery of the tug and aircraft.

[Philip Argy]

I suppose the word "jinxed" has no place on a technically precise and objective forum like this ...

And surely a coolant leak can be ignored for the amount of time it would have taken to tow the a/c clear of the RWY? So what if the tug overheats for an extra minute?

[Nigel C]

It was the appearance of what they thought was 'smoke' that made them stop, and they didn't want to risk the thing by running it any hotter than it was already getting.

I don't imagine the engines on those tugs would be cheap to repair or replace!

[Anthony J]

Originally Posted by Nigel C

It was, but the tug that towed it to the international this afternoon sprung a coolant leak just as it was crossing Rwy 16R, thus resulting in the runway being closed for a short time for the recovery of the tug and aircraft.

Ah, that would explain the sudden slow down we recieved for RW16L on QFA46 with RW16R closed due disabled aircraft! It wound up being a 330kt descent to RW34R.

[Philip Argy]

Originally Posted by Nigel C

It was the appearance of what they thought was 'smoke' that made them stop, and they didn't want to risk the thing by running it any hotter than it was already getting.

I don't imagine the engines on those tugs would be cheap to repair or replace!

So it was all fine when they got clearance to cross 16R, yet between when they started to cross 16R and before they had cleared 16R it became impossible to complete the crossing?

Maybe I'd better resurrect the "jinxed" word!