Passengers let off 'unsafe jet' (BBC News)

Passengers let off 'unsafe jet'

About 400 British tourists refused to get back on an aircraft in the Middle East after claiming they saw fuel pouring out of one of the wings.

Monday, 4 April, 2005, 07:01 GMT 08:01 UK

Passengers demanded to be let off the Phuket Air plane at Sharjah airport in the United Arab Emirates. They said the Gatwick-bound flight aborted take-off three times after refuelling while en route from Bangkok.

Dr Peter Hill, who was on board with his family, said "fuel was spewing out of the right hand wing". The Foreign Office said the passengers would resume their flights on Monday afternoon.

Passenger 'mutiny'

Dr Hill, from the Isle of Wight, told the BBC the plane which had stopped for refuelling looked old. He said: "There must have been 50 or 80 people on the right hand side of the plane screaming, absolutely panicked. "We were just worried that the whole thing was going to ignite. It was just unbelievable."

Officials at the airport had told passengers the plane was being checked and would be ready to take off later on Monday. But many of the passengers said they were too scared to get back on to the plane as they feared it was unsafe. Dr Hill added: "There will be a mutiny, I don't think anyone will get on the flight".

and multiple aborted takeoffs... what a nightmare!

The scariest moment of my life, even scarier than the time I almost got hit by a car because some idiot ran a red light. Air traffic control had cleared us for takeoff when there was another plane about to cross the runway.

It was... not fun watching the plane on the perpendicular runway at SFO sweep past us after we stopped.

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Right . . .

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Now who would use a name like that these days?

It's not April Fools is it?

Nope

I found the story in 5 other sites

So I HADDA Google



I'm not sure if that's the kind of plane it was in the story though

But I found it weird that NONE of the six news outlets named the type or manufacturerof the plane? :shrug:

you?

you're funny

I wonder if it's owned by some American that named it that as a sort of "inside joke." :evilgrin:

After this story, it sounds more like the companies philosophy. F*ck-kit. :silly:

this will become a bigger and bigger issue.

I think we need a disclosure requirements for the airlines: This jet maintained overseaes/in the U.S. Well in advance. With an absolute right to require a rebooking within 24 hours at no cost if they switch it.

I think that would pretty much put the kibosh on sending out aircraft maintenace to the lowest-cost overseas bidder.

BTW, its Foo-Ket

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Of course . .

I knew that.

:silly:

Flying on a reliable fleet

In early 2003, Phuket Air expects to operate four airplanes - a combination of three Boeing 737's and one NAMC YS-11's. Both of these types of aircraft have had excellent safety records.

The Boeing 737 has been the best-selling airliner in the world and remains a key player in modern air travel. The aircraft is able to accommodate multiple seating configurations, allowing between 99 and 118 seats of various classes.



In addition to the Boeing 737's, Phuket Air has a plan to utilize YS-11 aircraft for short-haul flights to serve domestic routes. The YS-11 is a Japanese manufactured dual turbo-prop aircraft equipped with Rolls-Royce engines. The YS-11 can accommodate 64 passengers and has been used by international airlines throughout the world especially in the Asia-Pacific region e.g., All Nippon Airways.

.. but the 747 (and probably a host of other types), are designed to spill fuel when it's been fueled to the top. Not too long ago, a bunch of passengers on a United flight from Hong Kong (I assume it was the Chicago flight) pulled the same stunt when they stood up while the aircraft was taxiing for departure, and refused to sit down until the aircraft had returned to the gate. The type of 747's used by Phuket Air, are the older versions, whose range is rather inferior to that of the latest version (the B747-400), not to mention that it's a charter airline that likes to cram as many people on board as possible. The Sharjah-London sector was probably quite heavy, requiring a lot of fuel - which then spilled overboard.

As for why it abandoned its takeoff three times - my guess is as good as yours, but keep in mind that it was a heavy aircraft, trying to take off in the desert heat, probably from a short runway. The pilot may have felt that it wouldn't be able to reach the rotation speed (with adequate runway remaining), and chose to abort the takeoff.

Until more info is given, I'd say that a breakdown of communication took place, and that the crew failed to explain the passengers the cause of the fuel spillage.

that was my impression too.

Now the three aborted take offs, that would be reason enough for me to want to get off the plane. The sight of the oil must have reinforced the impression that they were on an unreliable aircraft.

This the 4th Airline it is in service for, and with that paint job, I can see why they would worry.
Click photo to enlarge


Same jet, with these comments by the Photographer: "HS-VAN (cn 23245/626) Hot day at Gatwick and this 747 took the full run of 26. You can also see condensation from the left wing.



Anyone who like looking at photos of jets and Air Planes should check out this site, it's very cool.


Airliners.net
"Airliners.net is the biggest and most visited aviation interest site on the Internet¹, logging over 2,000,000 page-views from 100,000 distinct users every day.

We are an online aviation publication with a diverse audience of everything from airline management to frequent air travelers to aviation enthusiasts. We strive to be the center of aviation online and are an always-updated resource for the worldwide aviation community..."

it expands and runs out the overflows. That is normal and expected.

Jet fuel does not make explosive vapor at normal temperatures, and is very hard to ignite in its liquid state.

If it is "normal" maybe some adjustment of fueling protocol in the desert heat is called for.

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Fill up your car with gas on a summer day to do a mileage check -

Drive a short 100 - 150 cliks to fill up

and Holy Cow!

Amazing gas mileage by the numbers . .

Gas comes out of the ground between 40 - 55 degrees, and can heat up to well over 120+ shortly afterward, especially on blacktops and freeways

I've seen this time and time again with locals - and they are not convinced until they happen to fill up on a warm summer day - park the vehicle almost immediately after a short run to go shopping or home -

and Voila

Gas leaking -

Who'd a thunk it

I would have thought that with Airlines massive cost factor in the fuel area would have led SOMEONE to take advantage of this expansion and save a buck or two(millions industry-wide I suspect) by filling up just a WEE bit less with respect to the weather,

or installing some sort of overflow bladder or tank to compensate for this expansion .

I mean, the "expansion/overflow tank" idea has been used in cars and trucks consistently for radiator coolant since the sixties -

But then they never leave the ground -

And rad coolant isn't flammable

go figure