How Old Is Too Old?

  2 Responses to “How Old Is Too Old?”

1. 

   Chris says:

   July 27, 2008 at 12:19

   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

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2. 

   Chris says:

   July 27, 2008 at 12:19

   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

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