'Not a case of installing a tractor' to recover a passenger jet that crashed during the fifth day
A stalled QantasLink plane continues to cause headaches for crew at Rockhampton Airport five days after crashing during launch.
Key points:
- The plane came to a standstill Monday night after passing through soft ground while gliding
- No one was injured and other airport services were not affected
- Qantas will bring special equipment to Rockhampton to pick up the plane
A Qantas spokesman said flight QF1798, which was traveling to Rockhampton from Brisbane, landed normally on Monday evening.
But while cruising at low speed into the parking lot, the pilot “accidentally steered the plane across soft ground and got stuck just before the terminal”, the spokesman said.
Although the airline’s engineering team had made progress on what it described as a “smooth” operation, the plane remained stuck.
The spokesman said the retrieval required special equipment that is not currently available at Rockhampton.
Qantas did not specify when the plane would be moved.
‘Scream stop’
Qantas confirmed it was investigating the incident, while the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) said it was gathering further information to inform any decision on a potential investigation.
No one was hurt, and customers disembarked the Boeing 717 normally via stairs, including Rockhampton local Gillian Koch.
“It landed perfectly, brilliantly,” said Koch.
“But we still don’t know where it is. Definitely no problem whatsoever, the staff have been brilliant.”
Ms Kosh said she only realized the plane was stuck when they reached the door at the top of the stairs to get off.
“To be honest, we laughed,” he said.
“We’ve had a pretty tough day so we’re really just laughing thinking ‘what else can be done [wrong]?'”
Smooth recovery operation
Neil Hansford, aviation analyst and chairman of Strategic Aviation Solutions, said situations like this don’t happen often.
“In general the problem is that the plane goes over the end of the runway,” he said.
“In developed countries you don’t often find attacks like this happening, and I’ve never heard of anything like this in Australia in my aviation history.”
Mr Hansford agreed the recovery of the aircraft in this situation was complicated.
“You probably have about 50 tons spread over all four tires, and the wheels are half in,” says Hansford.
“All the weight, the engine weight in the tail, is all over these stuck wheels.”
Mr Hansford said going forward it would be a good idea to dig up a small area of grass where the plane was stuck and replace it with load-bearing concrete.
“Common sense will tell you it should be because it’s close to the taxiway you’re turning from, and planes are getting bigger,” he said.
The Rockhampton Regional Council, which owns and runs the airport, was contacted for comment.
While Qantas said passengers returning to Brisbane on Monday evening experienced minor delays before traveling on alternative flights, the ABC understands that the jammed plane did not cause delays on other flights.
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