qantas 'explosion' over Indonesia

Qantas 'explosion' over Indonesia



A Qantas A380 has made an emergency landing at Singapore airport, Indonesian authorities say.

Indonesian media reports on Thursday said there had been some sort of explosion over the Indonesian island of Batam, near Singapore, at about 9.15am local time.

Tatang Kurnia, head of Indonesia's Transportation Safety Board, said the explosion came from a Qantas plane that had just lifted off from Singapore.

"We've been informed from Singapore that a Qantas plane overflying the area defuelled and then made an emergency landing back in Singapore," he told MetroTV.

Qantas says the plane, flying from Singapore to Sydney, experienced engine problems.

"Qantas flight QF32 was enroute from Singapore to Sydney, the number two engine has shut down, so as a precautionary measure we are taking it back to Singapore," A Qantas spokeswoman told AAP.

Indonesian media reports said debris from the plane had landed in downtown Batam.

Pictures on local television appeared to show the Qantas logo on some of the debris.

There were 433 passengers and 26 crew on board.






wow this is serious the engine fell out of the plane!!!!!! thank god no one was killed or hurt

Qantas jet carrying 459 people has made a dramatic emergency landing in Singapore after one of its engines exploded over Indonesia.

The explosion occurred over the Indonesian island of Batam shortly after the Sydney-bound QF32 flight took off from Singapore's Changi Airport on Thursday morning.

Qantas said the Airbus A380 plane's second engine had 'shut down'.

'In line with procedure, the pilot sought priority clearance for its return to Singapore,' Qantas said in a statement.

'The aircraft landed safely at 11.45am local time (1445 AEDT).

'Some media reports suggested the aircraft had crashed.

'These reports are incorrect.

'No Qantas aircraft has crashed.'

The plane was carrying 433 passengers and 26 crew, Qantas said.

An Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade spokeswoman said no passengers or crew were injured.

'Australian High Commission staff are on their way to Changi airport to assist passengers if required,' she said.

Six fire engines swarmed the aircraft as soon is it landed on the tarmac, according to an AFP reporter at the airport.

'I can see smoke coming out of it,' the reporter said.

'One of the engines on the left wing looks blown off. It is black and has jagged edges.'

The explosion rained metal debris on a downtown area of Batam but there were no reports of injuries.

Pictures on local television showed the red and white Qantas logo on some of the debris.

The explosion sparked widespread online rumours the plane had crashed but they were soon disproved.

Witnesses said the explosion had been very loud and they had seen flames coming from the plane.

'Before the parts started falling I heard a very loud explosion,' one witness, Devi, told the local Antara news agency.

'It sounded like a bomb.'

It is believed to be the first time one of the giant, double-decker Airbus planes has experienced a mid-air emergency since its first commercial flight in October 2007.

Since then, fuel and computer glitches have grounded several A380s and at least one Air France flight was forced to turn around and land in New York after problems with its navigation system in November 2009.

Qantas has never suffered a fatal crash.

A spokesman for Airbus, which is based in the French city of Toulouse, declined to comment on the incident but said: 'The A380 is operating very well.'

According to Qantas, flight QF32 was equipped with four Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engines.

'We will work with Qantas to identify what the problem is,' a spokesman for the British engine maker told Dow Jones Newswires.

http://www.skynews.com.au/topstories/article.aspx?id=534951&vId=1902890

all the plane models have been suspended

airline is paying for passengers hotel rooms in singapore

Thanks Carly. Bit worrying that!