Another Qantas drama as tyres burst on landing at Sydney Airport

"Just a few sparks" again? That is the usual rot we get from Qantas spinmeisters. It might be a bit hard to pull that one this time, though



FLAMES shot out from the undercarriage of a Qantas A380 last night when its two nose wheel tyres burst as it landed at Sydney Airport - the second emergency involving the airline in the past 48 hours. Qantas has admitted that it does not know what caused the tyres to blow, Seven News reported.

A worker at the airport told The Daily Telegraph he heard a huge roar and then flames coming from under plane. "I thought there was a serious crash, there were sparks and flames shooting out everywhere," he said. "And the noise was deafening, like cannons going off. "I really thought something catastrophic had happened."

The 241 passengers on board QF32 from London via Singapore were stranded on the tarmac for nearly two hours while engineers investigated before being bussed to the terminal to meet anxious relatives.

"We saw from the observation deck and when it touched down the left wheel burst into flames and there were sparks and fire from the left-hand side and there was black smoke and when it went down the runway it stopped," said Mr Wayne Morris, 58, who was waiting for his wife, Maria, to arrive from a London holiday. " The control tower said on the radio that all the tyres were blown.

"I was very concerned because you don't expect to see flames from a plane and after the engineers went on strike it makes you ask the question about safety."

A Qantas spokeswoman said the incident was "rare" and had not occurred with the other five A380 planes in the Qantas fleet. "Passenger safety in our number one priority," a spokeswoman told Channel Nine's Today Show. "These incidents happen with all airlines around the world."

The incident comes after a Singapore-bound Qantas 747 was forced to return to Sydney Airport on Tuesday evening due to engine troubles. Qantas last night confirmed the plane had had similar engine problems in 2007 and 2003.

SOURCE