Well, Aussies have little choice. Qantas is the biggest airline company down there, often landing where others don't. If you fear Qantas, you may as well not leave the house at all.
Nevertheless, I’m not worried about Qantas particularly. As far as I know, it’s still the only major air carrier in the world that has never recorded a passenger fatality! (There is always a first time, of course, but banish the thought).
I like Mr. Jenkins' comment (in the news story).
I'm not worried about Qantas, but I am worried about airliners, in general. What worries me most is the discovery last year that AF447 crashed into the Atlantic because all three pitot tubes on the Air France Airbus jet iced up while flying through a thunderstorm. That is almost a predictable event in a strong thunderstorm, but what it means - what it REALLY means - is that Airbus jets (and probably Boeing jets too) should NEVER fly through thunderstorms. But these jets fly through thunderstorms every single day, all over the world! Scares the freak out of me!:
A Qantas Airways Ltd. Boeing Co. 747 jumbo jet returned to Singapore with an engine problem, a day after an exploded turbine forced an Airbus SAS A380 operated by the Australian carrier to make an emergency landing there.
The wide-body jetliner, which departed Singapore as flight QF6 for Sydney at about 8 p.m. local time, is being examined on the ground, according to an official on the Qantas desk at Singapore’s Changi airport, who declined to be identified.
Passengers from the 747 said an engine fault appeared to develop soon after takeoff, with several reporting that flames were seen coming from one of the four turbines. The plane dumped fuel before landing two hours after it had taken off, they said.
...Passenger Andrew Jenkins, 43, who is based in London and was flying to Sydney for work, said there was “certainly no lack of flames” during today’s event.
...The engine involved in yesterday’s A380 incident suffered what appeared to be an “uncontained failure,” where pieces of debris were flung out at high speed, piercing the casing, or nacelle, Qantas Chief Executive Officer Alan Joyce said today.
...Passengers on the grounded 747 said they’ll think twice about flying with Qantas again.
“We all panicked,” said Jeremy Lee, who was heading to Queenstown, New Zealand, on vacation. “I could smell fumes and there was some shouting and noise. Qantas hasn’t said when we’ll fly again, but I’m tired of this. I won’t fly with them and I’m asking for a refund. I am only 35 and I have a long way to go.”
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