'Blind' Qantas jet guided into airport - 紐澳

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=657309&rss=yes

'Blind' Qantas jet guided into airport

pic: http://news.ninemsn.com.au/img/2008/slideshow/qf12/qantas5.jpg
By Wade O'Leary, ninemsn

A Qantas 747 was forced to rely on another jet to guide it to safety this
morning after its radar failed and the crew had to "fly blind" in darkness
over the Pacific Ocean.

Porsche Centre Willoughby principal Sean Lygo told ninemsn that passengers on
QF12 from Los Angeles to Sydney were awoken by a glorious sunrise — and a
captain's announcement that the flight was being diverted to Auckland.

"The captain woke us up at sunrise and said 'we're on our way to Auckland'
and I thought, 'that's weird — I thought I was going to Sydney'," he said.

"He explained they'd been flying blind and he'd found an Air New Zealand jet
to guide them in.

"There was no drama, no panic — it was absolutely beautifully handled (but)
that's not to say I wasn't wondering why the (radar) antenna had gone."

The Air New Zealand 747 was 35km away when the captain made radio contact
requesting assistance.

It then sat 1000m off QF12's port wing and maintained radio contact until it
guided the aircraft into Auckland Airport.

A Qantas spokeswoman confirmed a weather radar antenna had malfunctioned on
the 12-year-old plane but added a replacement was flown to Auckland and the
flight eventually landed in Sydney four hours late.

Mr Lygo — who flew on QF30 only four days before an oxygen tank blasted a
large hole in the craft's fuselage — said the plane was "quite full" but
passengers remained composed through the ordeal.

"Nobody seemed too concerned and a couple of people were taking photos —
nobody was in a panic," he said.

"But it was disconcerting when I sat there and thought about what it meant to
fly blind … things could have turned out another way.

When asked if he would reconsider flying with Qantas in future, Mr Lygo said:
"Maybe I should, but I don't think so.

"Surely they've been running a magnifying glass over their operations after
this series of incidents — I certainly hope so."


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