Is QANTAS a victim of sabotage?
November 8th 2010 18:32
The currently beleaguered A380
Doesn't it strike you as odd, that right on the week of QANTAS's 90th anniversary, its biggest and newest jet type, the A380, suffered a major engine failure?
Since that first drama, there has been a second in flight engine failure (on a 747-400), then three other A380s have revealed engine oil leaks when inspected on the ground, after QANTAS sensibly grounded all its A380s after the initial incident.
The official line is, that the engine on the first A380 emergency was not a servicing problem, but that leaves three other possibilities;
1:
A foreign object entered the engine in flight;
We can effectively rule that out, as no evidence has appeared to support that possibility.
2:
There is a design fault in the engines;
Okay, that is a current (and as yet unsubstantiated) favourite of QANTAS and it could be so, as there are now more problems being discovered in three other engines in QANTAS A380s, at last count tonight.
3:
The failures are a result of sabotage.
That last possibility, albeit it remote and probably unlikely, is still a possibility, at this stage.
Reasons:
It is QANTAS's 90th anniversary, celebrating 90 years without a major accident and no deaths, and it is the second oldest (arguably first, as KLM stopped national based flights during WW2) continually operating international airline in the world.
QANTAS is also getting HUGE coverage with the Oprah Winfrey show bringing her 300 guests to Australia for her show here in an A380; this is at a time when global airlines are hurting financially.
There are other possibilities, regarding who would want to sabotage our national airline; Islamist extremist militants and their sympathisers, another possibility.
What better time to thwart the QANTAS international juggernaut than at its biggest moment, its 90th birthday? Our forces involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan certainly put us in the cross hairs of Islamist extremists, then there is the SE Asian based terror groups who have attacked Australian citizens in the past, with the bombings in Bali and Jakarta.
What could support this hypothesis being considered at all?
No other airline has grounded their A380 fleet.
NOTE: Singapore Airlines did inspect its A380s according to a late report, but cleared them to fly, as did a European airline, again they found no faults.
No other airline operating an A380 has reported any trouble with their engines.
What are the odds, that ONLY QANTAS is experiencing engine problems and these problems suddenly surface right at the moment it is celebrating 90 years of successful and safe air travel across the globe? QANTAS is internationally known as the world's safest airline, with no fatalities and no aircraft loss.
I would suggest those odds are looking increasingly improbable as more QANTAS A380 engines are discovered with problems, three more A380s since the first one, and then there is the jet (a 747-400) bringing home the Captain of the first stricken aircraft, which developed engine problems itself as it was leaving Singapore airport, causing it to emergency land, what are the odds of that happening on top of everything else, all in the same week?
Something just may be 'rotten in the state of Denmark' as they say....
I think QANTAS now needs to snap into gear and bring all of its maintenance back home.
Its CEO Allan Joyce, the Dubliner who has the smarts and loves the airline business, has stated that QANTAS services around 97% or more of its fleet maintenance in Australia.
Other service work is done in Singapore.
Am I being a trifle alarmist, of course!
Am I reacting without evidence, to suspect something is very wrong with the situation, now that four A380 aircraft have revealed serious problems, and let us not forget the 747, which also developed engine trouble out of Singapore, sent to rescue the passengers and crew from the first serious in flight incident? We are asked to believe that all these occurrences are merely coincidences! No, I am not reacting without evidence!
The odds are astronomical for all these problems to occur and at the time they occurred. IF, we accept that QANTAS is telling the truth, when it says there is no problem with the servicing of its aircraft, then why are these engine failures all happening within days of each other?
And if they are so good at servicing, why didn't they detect the leaks earlier
I note with interest, that the engine makers, Rolls Royce, have kept a conspicuously low profile during the dilemma. Clever oif them actually, as all the news reports talk of, and show, QANTAS jets, little is said of the engine makers.
I also note, Pratt and Whitney engines, made in America, are used on a lot of other A380s, and none of those have had any oil leakage reported or engine failure.
Are they, that is the Pratt and Whitney engines, really that much better than the Rolls Royce engines?
These incidents will, most likely, remain in the unanswered questions box...
P.S.
Update:
As of 23rd january 2011, no further breakdowns have been reported and no further explanations are forthcoming, excpet that Rolls Royce has apparently fixed the oil leakage problem, on all the A380s. This does not explain the 747-400 'coincidental' breakdown however.
Image Credit and Permission:
Photograph taken by Adrian Pingstone who has released it into the Public Domain with no conditions. Image used here does not suggest that Mr Pingstone agrees with nor supports the opinions stated on this site, nor does the image suggest QANTAS agrees with or supports the views aired in this article or on this site.
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Comment by Michaelie
Flick Wit
Hope you're keeping well!
Mich
Comment by Mountain Fog
Infognito
Screen Trek
QUOTE ME NO QUOTES!
yeah, conspiracy is lovable..
more likely, the real 'conspiracy' is QANTAS leaving their maintenance to offshore companies that cut corners on upkeep....
and oh..flying QANTAS huh?
Not too late to change that to Jestar....that wonderful offshoot of QANTAS that puts
itself and profitpassengers comfort first! hahaaa!cheers and long time no my type!
fog