Booksville

Wing damage grounds Qantas flight

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A New Zealand-bound Qantas flight had to be aborted minutes
before takeoff when wing damage was discovered by an engineer at
Sydney airport.
The Christchurch-bound Qantas 747-300 was taxiing towards the
runway at 9.15am (AEST) Saturday, when an engineer noticed damage
to its right wing flap.
Qantas said all 213 passengers on the plane have been provided
with accommodation and meal vouchers, and booked on another flight
on Sunday morning.
The engineer notified the pilot, who aborted the flight.
The aborted flight is the latest mishap in recent months to
plague the flying kangaroo.
The cause of the damage is being assessed, a spokeswoman for the
airline said.
In July a Qantas 747 had its belly torn open when an oxygen tank
exploded on a flight over Manila, sparking an Australian Transport
Safety Bureau investigation.
About 40 passengers were taken to hospital after the plane made
an emergency landing in Learmonth, near Exmouth in Western
Australia’s north.
And in October a Qantas plane suffered a dramatic midair plunge
on a flight from Singapore to Perth, where the plane fell 200
metres in 20 seconds, hurling unrestrained passengers around the
cabin.