300-odd people are now safely on the ground after a hair-raising ride between Hong Kong and Manilla.
A little research reveals that the aircraft in question is registered VH-OJK, Boeing certification number 25067. First flown 21 May 1991, delivered 17 June 1991. Seventeen years, one month, one week and one day old when she suffered explosive decompression.
I think it’s fair to say that even in these difficult-for-business times, I doubt QANTAS would be wanting to sacrifice a jealously guarded reputation for safety by skimping on maintenance. I might be wrong, but I don’t believe claims of rust which seem to have surfaced in the media, in regard to Friday’s episode over the South China Sea. Here’s a link to an online decoder for the Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System (ACARS) site. In short, a search engine which will show you the activity of any given aircraft, anywhere in the world, as long as you know it’s registration. Plug ‘VH-OJK’ into the registration search box and pay close attention to the flight hours of City of Newcastle over the last week alone. For those who don’t get the gist or can’t be bothered, here’s the result:
Date | Registration | Type | Operator | Flightnumber | Route |
24/07/2008 13:57 | VH-OJK | B744 | Qantas | QF0030 | LHR-HKG-MEL |
24/07/2008 4:49 | VH-OJK | B744 | Qantas | QF0009 | MEL-SIN-LHR |
23/07/2008 5:25 | VH-OJK | B744 | Qantas | QF0009 | MEL-SIN-LHR |
22/07/2008 21:01 | VH-OJK | B744 | Qantas | QF0012 | LAX-SYD |
21/07/2008 6:48 | VH-OJK | B744 | Qantas | QF0011 | SYD-LAX |
20/07/2008 20:49 | VH-OJK | B744 | Qantas | QF0002 | LHR-BKK-SYD |
20/07/2008 0:15 | VH-OJK | B744 | Qantas | QF0002 | LHR-BKK-SYD |
19/07/2008 23:46 | VH-OJK | B744 | Qantas | QF0002 | LHR-BKK-SYD |
19/07/2008 12:12 | VH-OJK | B744 | Qantas | QF0029 | SYD-HKG-LHR |
18/07/2008 15:08 | VH-OJK | B744 | Qantas | QF0029 | SYD-HKG-LHR |
18/07/2008 12:01 | VH-OJK | B744 | Qantas | QF0030 | LHR-HKG-MEL |
17/07/2008 13:13 | VH-OJK | B744 | Qantas | QF0030 | EGLL-VHHH |
17/07/2008 6:24 | VH-OJK | B744 | Qantas | QF0001 | SYD-BKK-LHR |
16/07/2008 9:32 | VH-OJK | B744 | Qantas | QF0001 | SYD-BKK-LHR |
15/07/2008 23:07 | VH-OJK | B744 | Qantas | QF0108 | JFK-LAX-SYD |
14/07/2008 15:14 | VH-OJK | B744 | Qantas | QF0011 | SYD-LAX< /td> |
14/07/2008 9:44 | VH-OJK | B744 | Qantas | QF0176 | LAX-BNE |
13/07/2008 4:30 | VH-OJK | B744 | Qantas | QF0175 | BNE-LAX |
13/07/2008 2:31 | VH-OJK | B744 | Qantas | QF6191 | BNE-SYD |
12/07/2008 23:06 | VH-OJK | B744 | Qantas | QF0002 | LHR-BKK-SYD |
12/07/2008 3:09 | VH-OJK | B744 | Qantas | QF0002 | LHR-BKK-SYD |
12/07/2008 0:03 | VH-OJK | B744 | Qantas | QF031D | SIN-LHR |
12/07/2008 0:02 | VH-OJK | B744 | Qantas | QF0031 | SYD-SIN-LHR |
11/07/2008 23:57 | VH-OJK | B744 | Qantas | QF0031 | SYD-SIN-LHR |
11/07/2008 22:48 | VH-OJK | B744 | Qantas | QF031D | SIN-LHR |
7/07/2008 22:36 | VH-OJK | B744 | Qantas | QF0150 | LAX-SYD< /td> |
6/07/2008 2:29 | VH-OJK | B744 | Qantas | QF0149 | SYD-LAX |
5/07/2008 23:20 | VH-OJK | B744 | Qantas | QF0128 | HKG-SYD |
5/07/2008 3:39 | VH-OJK | B744 | Qantas | QF0127 | SYD-HKG |
3/07/2008 10:17 | VH-OJK | B744 | Qantas | QF0032 | LHR-SIN-SYD |
2/07/2008 13:04 | VH-OJK | B744 | Qantas | QF0032 | LHR-SIN-SYD |
2/07/2008 5:46 | VH-OJK | B744 | Qantas | QF001D | VTBS-LHR |
1/07/2008 9:45 | VH-OJK | B744 | Qantas | QF0001 | SYD-BKK-LHR |
1/07/2008 5:22 | VH-OJK | B744 | Qantas | QF0064 | JNB-SYD |
30/06/2008 3:26 | VH-OJK | B744 | Qantas | QF0063 | SYD-JNB |
29/06/2008 23:32 | VH-OJK | B744 | Qantas | QF0128 | HKG-SYD |
29/06/2008 3:46 | VH-OJK | B744 | Qantas | QF0127 | SYD-HKG |
28/06/2008 20:29 | VH-OJK | B744 | Qantas | QF0010 | EGLL-WSSS |
28/06/2008 20:17 | VH-OJK | B744 | Qantas | QF0002 | LHR-BKK-SYD |
28/06/2008 0:18 | VH-OJK | B744 | Qantas | QF0002 | LHR-BKK-SYD |
28/06/2008 0:02 | VH-OJK | B744 | Qantas | QF0002 | LHR-BKK-SYD |
27/06/2008 6:19 | VH-OJK | B744 | Qantas | QF0009 | MEL-SIN-LHR |
26/06/2008 8:14 | VH-OJK | B744 | Qantas | QF0009 | MEL-SIN-LHR |
25/06/2008 19:34 | VH-OJK | B744 | Qantas | QF0010 | EGLL-WSSS |
25/06/2008 0:04 | VH-OJK | B744 | Qantas | QF0010 | EGLL-WSSS |
24/06/2008 23:48 | VH-OJK | B744 | Qantas | QF0010 | LHR-SIN-MEL |
24/06/2008 6:38 | VH-OJK | B744 | Qantas | QF0031 | SYD-SIN-LHR |
23/06/2008 11:00 | VH-OJK | B744 | Qantas | QF0031 | SYD-SIN-LHR |
23/06/2008 4:59 | VH-OJK | B744 | Qantas | QF0064 | JNB-SYD |
22/06/2008 2:38 | VH-OJK | B744 | Qantas | QF0063 | SYD-JNB |
It’s pretty typical utilisation for an airliner though, all airlines look to keep their aircraft in the air as much as possible, that’s where they make money.
Qantas aircraft on the international routes get it much easier than a lot of aircraft, long routes and overall less take-offs and landings in a given period than say 747s on the Atlantic or internal US routes.
i live in Perth WA where we are only now seeing Qantas phase out 747-300s on the Perth/Melbourne route in favour of Airbus A330-200s. I fly that route quite often, those aircraft are getting VERY old.
i’m bemused by this incident mainly because any information on what caused it is so slow being released. Obviously there is a hole, no comments on what caused it beyond Qantas disingenuously saying there was no corrosion in the vicinity of the damage.
i find that difficult to believe of any aircraft of that age, corrosion is a fact of life. (I was a professional pilot, military and charter for a long time.)
However it may not be corrosion, could be fatigue, could be damage when on the ground, could even have been an explosion in the hold, although that seems unlikely. It is very unlikely it was a bird-strike, not at 30,000 feet and not at that spot on the fuselage in any event.
Interesting, I’ll be watching for a detailed explanation when they get around to it. ;-)
Cheers
It’s pretty typical utilisation for an airliner though, all airlines look to keep their aircraft in the air as much as possible, that’s where they make money.
Qantas aircraft on the international routes get it much easier than a lot of aircraft, long routes and overall less take-offs and landings in a given period than say 747s on the Atlantic or internal US routes.
i live in Perth WA where we are only now seeing Qantas phase out 747-300s on the Perth/Melbourne route in favour of Airbus A330-200s. I fly that route quite often, those aircraft are getting VERY old.
i’m bemused by this incident mainly because any information on what caused it is so slow being released. Obviously there is a hole, no comments on what caused it beyond Qantas disingenuously saying there was no corrosion in the vicinity of the damage.
i find that difficult to believe of any aircraft of that age, corrosion is a fact of life. (I was a professional pilot, military and charter for a long time.)
However it may not be corrosion, could be fatigue, could be damage when on the ground, could even have been an explosion in the hold, although that seems unlikely. It is very unlikely it was a bird-strike, not at 30,000 feet and not at that spot on the fuselage in any event.
Interesting, I’ll be watching for a detailed explanation when they get around to it. ;-)
Cheers