Spotting at Brisbane Airport

Having an RDO today I thought I would head out to the airport for a few hours. As expected not much was happening in the way of new or exciting movements. I did manage to get a BAe 146 from Pionair for the first time. It flew from Bankstown to Sydney, then Sydney to Brisbane. It was on the ground for just over an hour before departing for Longreach. I also tried my hand at panning, which I think I did alright. 

PIONAIR BAe 146-200 VH-SYO (MSN E2108)
SFZ605 ARRIVING FROM SYDNEY

SFZ605 DEPARTING FOR LONGREACH

AIRNORTH EMB E170LR VH-SWO (MSN 17000081)
TL661 OFF TO CAIRNS

QANTAS B737-838 VH-VXO (MSN 33485)
QF515 OFF TO SYDNEY

QANTASLINK DASH 8 Q400 VH-QOU (MSN 4275)
QF2404 OFF TO EMERALD

ALLIANCE FOKKER 70 VH-JFE (MSN 11545)
QQ490 OFF TO GROOTE ISLAND

SINGAPORE A350-941 9V-SHJ (MSN 328)
SQ255 ARRIVING FROM SINGAPORE

JETSTAR A320-232 VH-VQE (MSN 3495)
JQ828 OFF TO TOWNSVILLE

ROYAL FLYING DOCTOR SUPER KING AIR B200C
VH-FDI (MSN BL-162) 
FD467 ARRIVING FROM BUNDABERG

ROYAL FLYING DOCTOR SUPER KING AIR 350C
VH-FDF (MSN FM-63) 
FD449 OFF TO HERVEY BAY

QANTAS A330-303 VH-QPI (MSN 0705)
QF119 OFF TO AUCKLAND

ALLIANCE FOKKER 100 VH-UQA (MSN 11499)
QQ942 OFF TO TOWNSVILLE

QANTASLINK B717-231 VH-NXN (MSN 55095)
QF1777 ARRIVING FROM NEWCASTLE

AIR NEW ZEALAND B787-9 VH-NZG (MSN 37963)
NZ145 ARRIVING FROM AUCKLAND

QANTAS B737-838 VH-VXE (MSN 30899)
QF514 ARRIVING FROM SYDNEY

LINK FAIRCHILD METROLINER VH-VEK (MSN DC-845B)

QANTAS B737-838 VH-VZS (MSN 39358)
QF610 ARRIVING FROM MELBOURNE

QANTAS B737-838 VH-XZP (MSN 44577)
QF711 ARRIVING FROM CAIRNS 

Hi FLY MALTA A340-313 9H-TQZ (MSN 202)

PACIFIC AIR EXPRESS B757-225 VH-PQA (MSN 22611)

ALLIANCE FOKKER 70 VH-KBX (MSN 11547)

SKYTRADERS A319-132 VH-VCJ (1880)

Second Qantas 737 damaged by luggage vehicle

QANTAS B737-838 VH-VZH (MSN 34202) 

It was only yesterday I posted a story about a Qantas 737 being seriously damaged in Perth, Australia, by a belt loader vehicle. Now, only a few days later, another Qantas aircraft has been slightly damaged by a belt loader, this time in Darwin. An incident bearing a striking resemblance to last Thursday’s events took place again in Darwin, with another Qantas 737 being damaged by a belt loader an Australia Transport Workers’ Union (TWU) member said. The TWU is calling for an investigation into the matter. Video footage and photos show the belt loader wedged under the aircraft. In a public statement, the TWU reports that passengers were onboard the plane when the collision happened. Media reported that the collision had also caused the plane to shake.

The Boeing 737, registered VH-VZH, was set to operate Qantas flight QF851 to Perth. On the day, the flight was supposed to depart at 11:45 AM Darwin time and arrive in Perth at 2.05 PM. However, the incident resulted in a significant delay of eight hours, with the incident aircraft continuing on to operate the service, departing at 7.30 PM and arriving into Perth at 9.50 PM

While there have been no official findings released, the TWU is raising the issue of outsourced ground workers as a relevant factor in these two incidents. The union says that Qantas outsourced all of its 2,500 ground workers this year in order to pay lower wages for baggage, ramp, and cleaning work.

“Since then safety and service issues have arisen, including pilots given dangerous and incorrect baggage weight information, understaffing of ground operations with teams halved, the use of old equipment around aircraft and problems including excessive delays with baggage at airports. A child’s electric wheelchair was smashed at Sydney Airport after it was incorrectly placed on a baggage belt.” - said the Transport Workers Union

The TWU notes that it has written to the Civil Aviation Safety Authority, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau, and WorkSafe Western Australia calling for investigations.
A Federal Court ruling is pending on the outsourcing of Qantas ground workers. The outsourcing took the place of Qantas workers at 10 airports, including Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, Darwin, Cairns, Townsville, Alice Springs, and Canberra. The TWU notes that Darwin Qantas workers were “among the last to be pushed out, with some doing their final shifts in April.”

Speaking with reporters, a Qantas spokesperson says that the airline are investigating the cause of both incidents.

Aircraft Information:

Airline: QANTAS

Code: QF/QFA

Aircraft: Boeing 737-838

Registration: VH-VZH

Serial Number: 34202

Qantas 737 significantly damaged

QANTAS B737-838 VH-VXQ (MSN 33723)

An iconic Qantas aircraft was seriously damaged in a collision at Perth Airport on Thursday. A baggage vehicle (belt loader) crashed into the Retro jet while it was parked at the airport, reportedly due to the brakes on the vehicle failing. The vehicle impacted the starboard side of the 737, tearing a significant hole in the belly of the plane. Reports suggest that the driver of the baggage vehicle was not injured, but that he was trapped underneath the plane until the vehicle could be recovered. The incident left the 737 with a sizeable rip in the fuselage. The Transport Workers Union (TWU) notes that several other ground workers narrowly escaped injury during the incident. 

Qantas has come under fire for outsourcing its ground handling to third parties, after the pandemic-induced shutdown slashed the airline’s finances. The TWU claims that this is the latest in a string of incidents that have jeopardized the safety of aviation workers, telling the News publication,

“The other incidents include pilots being given dangerous and incorrect baggage weight information, understaffing of ground operations with teams halved, the use of old equipment around aircraft and problems including excessive delays with baggage at airports.”

The damaged aircraft was known as Retro II, its the airline’s second retro jet. This one has been painted with the original scheme featured on Qantas’s first jet aircraft, the Boeing 707, when it entered service in 1959. As you can see from the images below the livery features the the words “Australia’s Overseas Airline" on the fuselage, a red cheatline along the passenger windows and a Flying Kangaroo and the word Qantas on a white tail with two red stripes.

Pilot falls asleep and goes off course for 110 kilometres before waking

An experienced Queensland pilot suffering from fatigue fell asleep for 40 minutes mid-air, an investigation by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) has found. The pilot had been travelling in a Cessna 208B on a ferry flight from Cairns (CNS/YBCS) to Redcliffe (YRED), north of Brisbane, in July last year when the emergency incident unfolded. An ATSB report said on the day, Air Traffic Control (ATC) tried to make contact with the pilot when the plane was close to the Sunshine Coast, but there was no response. "At that time, and for next 40 minutes," the report said.

When further attempts to reach the pilot failed, the ATC asked a nearby Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) pilot to try and intercept the light plane, but this also failed to get the pilot's attention. It was not until the plane had flown more than 110 kilometres past its intended destination that the pilot woke up and made contact.

'Not really with it'

The report said the pilot sounded "groggy" and "not really with it" when the pilot first came to, and had later reported feeling "confused" when first starting their descent. However the pilot had gone on to land the plane at Gold Coast Airport with no issues, the report said. It also said the pilot, who had 20,000 hours of flying experience and had ferried flights for 12 years, reported having "disturbed sleep" the night before the flight, which was a regular occurrence.

"The pilot reported feeling a little tired on the day of the incident, but was OK to fly," the report said.

The pilot also reported having the heater on and the cockpit being "reasonably warm", which they believed may have contributed to falling asleep.

Disrupted sleep and 'mild hypoxia'

But the ATSB determined the pilot's incapacitation was most likely caused by fatigue from prolonged disrupted sleep, paired with a condition called "mild hypoxia. It also determined the pilot suffered the condition because they had not used the supplemental oxygen system "appropriately" when starting to fly at a higher altitude.

"While cruising at 10,000 feet, the pilot encountered unforecast icing conditions and poor visibility due to cloud and climbed to 11,000 feet," the report said.

Pilots must continuously use supplemental oxygen when flying unpressurised aircraft above 10,000 feet, the report said. "This likely exacerbated the pilot's existing fatigue and contributed to the pilot falling asleep," it said.



Aircraft Details
Aircraft: Cessna 208B
Aircraft Registration: VH-DQP
Serial Number: 208B2069

Three Cathay Pacific crew face bribery charges

CATHAY PACIFIC AIRCRAFT PARKED UP IN ALICE SPRINGS      (File Photo)

Three Cathay Pacific flight attendants have been charged with accepting bribes. According to the Independent Commission against Corruption (ICAC) of Hong Kong, the three defendants accepted bribes totaling over HK$98,000 (~US$12,600) over staff travel benefits. Their court appearance is scheduled for Tuesday, May 25th.

Three Cathay Pacific flight attendants charged

The ICAC announced that three former and serving employees of Cathay Pacific have been charged with accepting bribes. The employees reportedly received the hefty sums for nominating a woman and her friends as traveling companions to enjoy staff benefits in purchasing air tickets.

One of the defendants is a former flight purser at Cathay Pacific. One is a currently serving flight attendant, and the other is a former flight attendant. The purser faces four counts of conspiracy for an agent to accept advantage. The two flight attendants are jointly charged with the purser in two of the charges

The allegations of bribery

The three employees are alleged to have abused the “Companion Travel Scheme” that Cathay Pacific offers. Under the scheme, airline employees can nominate a partner, sibling, family member, or a friend to be a traveling companion. That companion can purchase airfare on Cathay Pacific and its partner airlines at concessionary rates.

                                                                                (File Photo)

Two of the charges allege that, on two occasions between January 1st, 2018, and February 20th, 2019, the purser conspired with another woman. The purser allegedly received around HK$20,000 (~US$2,600) and at least HK$12,000 (~US$1,500) as an inducement to or reward for the purser to nominate the woman as her traveling companion.

Another charge alleges that between December 17th, 2018 and June 19th, 2019, the purser and one flight attendant conspired together with the same woman for the flight attendant to accept around HK$39,000 (~US$5,000) as an inducement to or reward for the flight attendant to nominate a friend of the woman as their traveling companion.

The final charge alleges that between January 3rd and 23rd of 2019, the purser and second flight attendant conspired together with the same woman from the first two counts for the flight attendant to accept around HK$27,000 (~US$3,500) as an inducement to or reward for the second flight attendant to nominate another friend of the woman as the second flight attendant’s traveling companion.

The receiving of monetary payment in exchange for such nominations is prohibited under Cathay Pacific’s policies. It is alleged that Cathay Pacific suffered a financial loss of over HK$1.16 million (~US$149,000) involving 75 sectors of tickets.
Employee privileges

It is not unusual for airlines to offer their employees and their family members some incentives, discounts, or rewards for flying with the carrier. However, abusing such privileges and receiving monetary gain goes well against airline policies for such incentives.

Attempting to bribe employees can also come with punishments, and passengers found doing so may face consequences. The ICAC did not release information that they are also investing the woman and her friends who paid out the bribes. The trial on Tuesday is focused on the three current or former Cathay Pacific employees.

Story sourced from here
Three Cathay Pacific Crew Members Face Bribery Charges - Simple Flying

Remembering American Airlines Flight 191

AMERICAN AIRLINES B787-9 N832AA (MSN 40638)

American Airlines Flight 191 was a regular scheduled passenger flight from O'Hare International Airport (ORD/KORD) in Chicago, Illinois, to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX/KLAX) in Los Angeles, California. On the 25th May 1979, the McDonnell Douglas DC-10-10 operating this flight was taking off from runway 32R when it crashed into the ground. All 258 passengers and 13 crew on board were killed, along with two people on the ground. At 14:59 hours local time Flight 191 taxied from the gate at O'Hare Airport. The weather at the time of departure was clear, and the reported surface wind was 020° at 22 kts. At 15:02:38, the flight was cleared for takeoff. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) found that as the aircraft was beginning its takeoff rotation, engine number one (the left engine) separated from the left wing, flipping over the top of the wing and landing on the runway. As the engine separated from the aircraft, it severed hydraulic fluid lines that lock the wing's leading-edge slats in place and damaged a 3-foot (1 metre) section of the left wing's leading edge. Aerodynamic forces acting on the wing resulted in an uncommanded retraction of the outboard slats. As the aircraft began to climb, the damaged left wing – with no engine – produced far less lift than the right wing, with its slats still deployed and its engine providing full takeoff thrust. The disrupted and unbalanced aerodynamics of the aircraft caused it to roll abruptly to the left until it was partially inverted, reaching a bank angle of 112 degrees, before crashing in an open field by a trailer park near the end of the runway 50 seconds later. The engine separation was attributed to damage to the pylon structure holding the engine to the wing, caused by improper maintenance procedures used at American Airlines. (A pylon structure is a hardpoint located on an airframe designed to carry an external or internal load.) 

With 273 fatalities, it is still the deadliest aviation accident to have occurred in the United States.

Aircraft Information

Airline: American Airlines

Code: AA/AAL

Aircraft: McDonnell Douglas DC10

Registration: N110AA

Serial Number: 46510 /22

Engines : Three General Electric CF6-6D

Delivered: 25/02/1972

Age of Aircraft: 7 Years 3 months

Happy Birthday Jetstar

Jetstar is an Australian low-cost airline wholly owned subsidiary of Qantas. In 2001 Qantas bought out Newcastle based Impulse Airlines and began operating its fleet of Boeing 717-200 aircraft under the QantasLink banner. On the 1st December 2003 Qantas announced the decision to launch a low-cost carrier called "Jetstar" to take on the rapidly expanding Virgin Blue and decided to use the Impulse fleet to speed up the launch. At the official launch of the new carrier Qantas announced they have placed an order for 23 Airbus A320s. With headquarters at Avalon airport Jetstar began services on the 25th May 2004 using Boeing 717-200 from the Impulse fleet. Seventeen years ago today a Boeing 717-231 VH-VQI (CN 55095) touched down in Melbourne from Newcastle as JQ371. Airbus A320 services were launched later that year. On the 1st December 2005, Jetstar commenced operations from Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and the Gold Coast to Christchurch in New Zealand. In June 2015, Jetstar announced that it would commence regional services in New Zealand, beginning in December that same year. The new services would be flown by five turboprop Bombardier Dash 8s currently operated by Qantaslink, but would be flown under the Jetstar brand. At least four new destinations were served initially, with Hamilton, Rotorua, New Plymouth, Napier, Palmerston North, Nelson and Invercargill named as the cities under consideration. 

With a fleet of 66 aircraft, consisting of 

49 A320's 

6 A321's (one parked) 

11 B787-8 (one parked and seven stored)

Jetstar flew to 21 domestic destinations and 17 international destinations in 9 countries across Asia, North America and Oceania.
In November 2019 Jetstar ceased all its regional services in New Zealand, and in mid-March 2020, Jetstar suspended their New Zealand operations altogether in response to the global COVID-19 pandemic. 

JETSTAR DASH 8 Q300 VH-TQD (CN 598)

JETSTAR DASH 8 Q300 VH-TQK (CN 600)

Jetstar has had different aircraft and many different liveries; below are some of the images I have taken over the years.

JETSTAR B717-231 VH-VQJ (CN 55096) BUDGET LIVERY

JETSTAR B717-231 VH-YQH (CN 55096) DOMINOS PIZZA LIVERY

THIS AIRCRAFT WAS PREVIOUSLY REGISTERED AS VH-VQJ 

AS SEEN ABOVE; IT IS NOW CURRENTLY REGISTERED AS VH-NXN

JETSTAR A320-232 VH-JQX (CN 2197)

JETSTAR A320-232 VH-VGP (CN 4343)

CELEBRATING "POWDERFINDERS" AUSTRALIAN TOUR

JETSTAR A320-232 VH-VGZ (CN 3917) QUICKSILVER LIVERY

JETSTAR A320-232 VH-VQH (CN 55094) 

CELEBRATING OUR AUSTRALIAN RUGBY LEAGUE TEAM

THE KANGAROOS

JETSTAR A320-232 VH-VQQ (CN 2573) SEA WORLD LIVERY

JETSTAR A320-232 VH-VQP (CN 2573) GOLD COAST "TITANS"

JETSTAR A320-232 VH-VFL (CN 5489)

"HELPING LITTLE ATHS REACH FOR THE STARS"

JETSTAR A320-232 VH-VGF (CN 4497)

BRIGHT ORANGE TO CELEBRATE THIER 10th BIRTHDAY

JETSTAR A320-232 VH-VQK (CN 2651)

SPORTING THE LAUNCESTON AIRPORT LIVERY

JETSTAR A330-202 VH-EBC (CN 506) PAINTED WHITE

THIS AIRCRAFT HAS NOW RETURNED TO QANTAS

JETSTAR A330-202 VH-EBD (CN 513)

JETSTAR B787-800 VH-VKG (CN 36232)