Aviation News

Two Qantas passengers have been hospitalised after the cabin temperature of the plane they were travelling on reportedly soared to nearly 40 degrees after a problem with the plane’s air-conditioning.

Flight QF2260, carrying 30 passengers and bound for Lord Howe Island, turned back to Sydney and landed safely at 1.47pm to be met by several ambulance units. Qantas said the flight crew had called ahead to request medical assistance meet the aircraft on landing as a precaution.

Passengers were assessed by paramedics for heat-related issues upon landing.

A NSW Ambulance spokesman said two female passengers were treated at the scene for dehydration and transferred to hospital, both in a stable condition.

The passengers all walked off the plane and both passengers and crew were assessed for heat-related issues.

Some of the passengers reported that the temperature had soared to about 40 degrees in the cabin.

Qantas said in a statement that the QantasLink plane had suffered a “technical issue with the air-conditioning system”.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/travel/travel-incidents/qantas-passengers-hospitalised-after-cabin-temperature-soars-20130304-2fg84.html#ixzz2MZiiRgpn

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Dogs are relatively common at Ben Gurion airport and are allowed to travel on some other airlines, but BA has a clear policy not to allow dogs in the main cabin on flights.

The Airbus A321 had taxied as far as the runway on Sunday night when a passenger alerted cabin crew that there was a dog on board and the plane turned back to the stand. It’s been reported that the passenger had heard a squeaking noise from under a seat.

BA cabin crew staff questioned the woman, believed to be American, before removing her, the dog and her luggage.

This incident caused a delay to the flight. The BA flight 166 from Tel Aviv to London Heathrow had already been delayed from its original take-off time of 7.00pm (local Israeli time) but was on time for its re-scheduled slot at 8.40pm.

Cabin crew had already given passengers their safety briefing when the dog was discovered.

A British Airways spokesman said the passenger would have passed through all the relevant security and immigration points at Tel Aviv.

The spokesman said: "We did not allow a female customer to travel on board our service from Tel Aviv to Heathrow today after it was discovered that she was carrying a small dog in her handbag. We apologise to our customers who experienced a delay to the departure of their flight as a result of this incident."

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Here is a recent news story that doesn't give much information about the problem that occurred. Read the article and then try the grammar exercise below.

An official from a northeastern Chinese airport says an Airbus A320 on a domestic flight made an emergency landing because of a mechanical fault.

The official from Taiping Airport in Harbin city confirmed Tuesday that China Southern Airlines flight CZ 3624 headed for the southern city of Guangzhou returned to Harbin after takeoff Monday and made an emergency landing. She declined to specify the mechanical fault and would only give her surname, Bai.

The official Xinhua News Agency reported that the housing on the plane’s left engine had fallen off, citing a statement from the airline.

Xinhua says the passengers left in another plane later Monday. It says the cause of the problem is being investigated.

Read more: http://www.ctvnews.ca/world/airbus-a320-flight-makes-emergency-landing-in-china-1.1162042#ixzz2LMAOcXdx

AVIATION ENGLISH GRAMMAR EXERCISE:

Use the following words to ask questions about the article. You can post your questions (and answers) on our facebook page.

1. Which / airline / involve / incident ?
2. Why / make / emergency landing ?
3. What / part / aircraft / fall / off ?
4. What / think / cause / problem ?

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A British Airways jet carrying 266 people has been forced to make an emergency landing due to suspected toxic oil fumes, just 11 days after a similar incident.

The Boeing 747, which was carrying American Idol host Ryan Seacrest and his girlfriend, the singer and accress Julianne Hough, was not even one hour into the journey from Los Angeles to Heathrow when it was forced to land again after passengers and crew started to feel unwell.

The captain had become concerned after crew and business class customers were affected early on during the flight on Thursday.

All three pilots and four cabin crew had to be taken to hospital for checks, while a number of passengers were treated by paramedics, after emergency services met the aircraft in Las Vegas, the Sunday Express has reported.

Following the incident, a BA spokesman said: ‘Safety is always our top priority and as a precaution, the Captain decided to divert our Los Angeles to London service into Las Vegas, following a suspected technical problem.

‘Our pilots used their training and experience throughout and the flight landed normally at Las Vegas.

‘We provided hotels for the customers and we will be rebooking customers onto alternative flights out of Las Vegas as soon as possible.’

The news comes just one week after it was revealed a BA Boeing 777 was forced to make an emergency landing in Canada, as it made its way from Heathrow to Philadelphia, after suspected toxic oil fumes were reported on the flight deck. In that instance the plane, carrying 158 passengers, made the unscheduled stop at Goose Bay, in Newfoundland, in temperatures of -30C.

British Airways said the latest aircraft has been taken out of service for investigation. It said there were early indications which pointed to a ‘fault with the number three engine’, according to the Sunday Express.

A spokesman said: ‘The engine’s maintenance programme would, of course, be in accordance with the manufacturer’s regulations. Safety is always our top priority.’

The spokesman apologised to the passengers on Thursday night’s flight and said: ‘The smell could only be smelt on the upper deck and 20 business class customers in that area were informed of the situation. There was no unusual smell on the main deck.’

Three weeks ago the first picture was released of one of two top BA pilots who died within days of each other after complaining about being exposed to toxic oil fumes on passenger planes.

It was reported last month that Richard Westgate, 43, died after instructing his lawyers to sue BA for health and safety breaches days before fellow pilot Karen Lysakowska, 43, passed away.

Both claimed they had been poisoned by the fumes that can contaminate cabin air and which regularly force pilots to wear oxygen masks. Mr Westgate’s lawyers want to ‘give him the trial he never got’ by suing the airline in a case they say will be a ‘moment of truth’ for the aviation industry.

They say they are on the cusp of proving in court the existence of ‘aerotoxic syndrome’, a chronic physical and neurological condition they insist will one day be seen as ‘the new asbestos’. Thousands of pilots are currently ‘unfit to fly’, one specialist doctor has claimed.

A BA spokesman said: ‘Our thoughts are with the families of the two pilots at this very sad time and we offer our sincere condolences.

‘We are not aware of any legal claims relating to the two individuals. It would be inappropriate for us to comment or speculate upon the individuals’ cause of death.’

BA has said it is not aware of any link between the deaths and the latest incident.

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