Oz plane’s engine explodes

Sep 03, 2010 |

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Sept. 2: Passengers on a Sydney-bound Qantas jet rocked by an exploding engine on Thursday described how the plane felt like it had hit a “speed bump” and showered flames and sparks like fireworks.

The Qantas Boeing 747-400 had to turn back to San Francisco about half an hour into Monday’s flight after an engine failed, blasting a large hole in its casing. Passengers among the 212 on board finally arrived in Sydney on Thursday, and told of their alarm when the engine gave way with a “loud thump”, and flames come out of the engine.

Qantas, Australia’s national airline, said investigations were underway into the incident, which it described as “excessive vibration” in one of the plane’s four Rolls-Royce engines.

Initial checks confirmed that the engine had failed, and there were a couple of “holes” in the casing. Officials from Australia and the United States are now looking into the matter.

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