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SINGAPORE
MALAYSIA
INDONESIA
BatamIsland
40KM0▲N
Changi Airport
Batam
The Rolls-Royce Trent 900
A turbofan engine designed to power
the A380 Airbus
9.56am local time Qantas flight QF32, an A380 airbus with four Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engines, takes off 26 minutes late from Singapore’s Changi airport bound for Sydney with 433 passengers and 26 crew.
10.02am A loud explosion at 6500ft. Passengers and witnesses on the ground see smoke and flames, and metal fragments rain down on the island of Batam, about 20 kilometres south of Singapore. In the cockpit, multiple error messages warn of a major engine problem and the pilot shuts down the number two engine on the left wing. Pilot issues a “Pan” alert — one step short of a Mayday — telling other aircraft in the area and authorities on the ground that it has struck trouble and seeks priority clearance for return to Singapore. Witnesses on the ground see the plane’s flight as unstable.
Between 10.02 and 11.45am The plane turns back and for safety reasons dumps fuel, which vaporises in the atmosphere. Pilots perform extensive system checks while awaiting clearance to land at Singapore.
11.46am Smoking plane lands on the tarmac with the cowling of one engine ripped away and the top of a wing damaged and is swarmed by fire trucks.
1.40pm All passengers have disembarked.
Debris from engine found
The small black mark at about 11 oclock on
the exposed turbine housing is possibly the exit
hole of a turbine blade.
The discoloration on the white part of the middle engine shows that a lot of heat has developed.
Indonesian police officers inspect parts of the Qantas airbus in Batam.
AP Photo/tundrA LAksAmAnA
WHAT WENT WRONG?
