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