Qantas jets collide at airport
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Two Qantas jumbo jets - including the plane involved in the Manila mid-air explosion last July - have collided while being towed at Avalon.
"Two 747s at our Avalon maintenance base have come into contact with each other during towing this morning," a Qantas spokesman said.
"Both aircraft sustained some damage, the extent of that is still being assessed."
The spokesman confirmed one of the planes was the aircraft that was forced to make an emergency landing earlier this year when its oxygen tank exploded mid-air, blowing a hole in the plane's fuselage.
Repairs to the aircraft involved in the July incident were undertaken in Manila by Boeing, but further work was being done at Avalon.
The plane has not carried passengers since the emergency landing four months ago.
Staff involved in this morning's collision, which occurred about 9.30am, have been stood down pending a full investigation, a Qantas spokesman said.
He said it was too early to determine the cause of the crash.
The airline believes both 747s will be out of action for at least a few days.
http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2008/11/18/1226770427139.html
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so far no one has been killed on Qantas flights.. and it is not from want of Qantas trying
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Peter Marosszeky, a former maintenance and engineering manager at United Airlines, said that a number of costly components appeared to be damaged. "It appears that the radar antennae and the raydome are damaged and the forward pressure bulkhead could possibly be damaged," he said.
"Depending on the availability of parts, staff and hangar space you're looking at between two and three weeks before its repaired."
Mr Marosszeky, now a senior visiting fellow at the University of NSW, said that normally a 747-400 operator would lose $1.1 million for each day the aircraft was grounded. With both aircraft out of action for a total of about 30 days, according to Qantas, the total damages bill could easily exceed $20 million.
,,,,,ggg
Bird cannot keep its nose out of trouble