Coffee revelation saves Qantas plane from potential disaster

According to a report by the Sydney Morning Herald, a Qantas pilot refused to fly out of Sydney until a sink blocked with coffee grounds was cleared. He feared the blocked sink would endanger the safety of the passengers and the aircraft itself.

This ‘revelation’ followed the incident last month where a water spillage on a Qantas flight to Bangkok caused the plane to lose all electrical power. Although investigations into the mishap are underway, initial reports indicated that it was water from a blocked sink that leaked through a cracked drip tray onto the main generators.

On the pilot’s insistence, maintenance staff checked the plane and discovered that the drip tray was indeed cracked in exactly the same place as the QF2 flight to Bangkok. The flight was eventually delayed as engineers cleared the blocked sink and repaired the drip tray.

"The captain of the 767 requested it be cleared, which was done without need for the aircraft to be taken out of service," a Qantas spokesperson said.

According to the Flight Attendants Association of Australia, Qantas have reissued cabin crew with procedures on dealing with liquids on planes. Qantas have also issued tougher procedures in dealing with spillages on planes.

Meanwhile, Boeing spokesman Ken Morton said that Boeing will do their utmost to address the problem – even if it means issuing a “worldwide alert” on coffee grounds.

Peter

The captain of the 767 requested it be cleared, which was done without need for the aircraft to be taken out of service,"

I feel Tea and Biscuits at the office will be on the cards for this skipper (If Delayed). The 767 has totally different location to the 747 GCUs that caused the previous incident.

Edited February 5, 200818 yr by dekka007

Coffee revelation saves Qantas plane from potential disaster

...........initial reports indicated that it was water from a blocked sink that leaked through a cracked drip tray onto the main generators.

Waow..... looks like a new design. Wonder if the generators are nuclear driven or maybe there is a spinning drive shaft from each engine to the Avionics bay like tractors to a wood chipper.

Edited February 5, 200818 yr by skippybangkok