QF32 divert to DXB

[anat0l]

I know the Herald Sun didn't mean it this way, but I actually was surprised to hear that it was the same flight number. Usually airlines stop using a flight number and change it for that route if they have a major incident or accident on that flight number. Just a sort of superstitious thing.

I thought that's usually if someone gets killed.

If no one is killed then the flight numbers typically don't change.

In some cases, there has been no change.

 

[Nigelinoz]

Usually airlines stop using a flight number and change it for that route if they have a major incident or accident on that flight number

As far as I am aware BA is still operating BA38 even after the LHR accident-and that was certainly a major crash even though nobody died.
Cheers
N'oz

 

[nlagalle]

I saw this on PPRUNE yesterday:

From News.com.au (well it could be)

Terrified and lonely, nearly three hundred passengers aboard a Qantas A380 were today diverted hundreds of kilometres to an out of the way destination to assess a potentially fatal flaw in the aircraft's highly combustible fuel. As the aircraft tumbled out of the sky towards the foreign runway it was obvious to the anxious passengers that something was wrong. "I thought I was going to see my life flash before my eyes" said Jemma Jones of Sydney, nervously clutching her iphone that she hoped would sms a final loving message to her family, safe on the ground back home in Kellyville.

A Qantas spokesperson denied accusations that the passengers were in danger. "At no time were the passengers in danger" said the spokesperson, however according to Michael Quamless, an experienced business traveller "We nearly landed on top of a 747, I saw it out the window just before we touched down, top marks to the pilot for missing it though, I tell ya, no-one's better than our Qantas boys".

The plane resumed its perilous journey home only after refuelling technicians had certified that the fuel was now safe, and with hearts in mouths the passengers endured a terrifying takeoff, cruise and let down into Sydney. A qantas spokesperson at Sydney airport is refusing to comment any further, leading to specualtion that the airline has something to hide.

Tiffany Bling
(Senior) Aviation Reporter

 

[plspoon]

QF32 13Feb diverted to Dubai - do you know anything more?

I was on QF32 on 13th Feb from LHR to SIN which was the flight that was diverted to DXB for refuelling after being refused permission to overfly Iraq. I have found various news posts on the internet but I am curious to know if anybody has any further info on why this happened? The news stories are just the basics which I knew already from what the captain told us. I did find an article which indicated that they rerouted to fly over Iraq because they hadn't paid a bill for overflying somewhere else but that sounds a bit unlikely.
I know it's not particularly important in the greater scheme of things but I am nosey.

Last November my husband and I got caught up in the A380 chaos coming back from New York to Perth and we were 2.5 days late home eventually. This time, I was returning from London and with this diversion finished up being 11 hours late back into Perth. I am beginning to think I might be jinxed.
Perhaps next time I book something, I should post here and you can all change your bookings to get off the same flight as me.

 

[NM]

One reason this can happen has already been mentioned by jb747, being if the flight is delayed and especially if the flight number has a D (meaning delayed) appended. Was the flight delayed prior to the diversion?

 

[plspoon]

Yes, the flight had left London at least an hour late (due to missing passengers, having to search for and then unload their baggage, and then a problem starting one of the engines!!).
I had wondered if it could have been because we were running late but surely that happens all the time? Seems a bit picky to refuse overfly permission because of that. Surely aircraft would be diverted all the time?
Anyway, for a previous poster info, we were not allowed off the plane in DXB and just stood up and wandered around the aircraft while waiting. They did get the loos cleaned and took on some bottled water but no extra catering. It took just over an hour altogether. After take-off we had to wait a few hours for breakfast and I think everybody was quite hungry by the time it was served. The cabin crew member told me they did think about serving it earlier but then figured everybody would have to go hungry for the last half of the flight instead.....

It was not the least bit exciting, the only reason I posted my query was because I was curious to know what might have been the real reason for the refusal.

Incidentally, one side benefit of the diversion was that a lot of the passengers started talking to each other during the wait in DXB and I found I was sitting next to a very interesting person. Normally I'd be too shy to start a conversation.

 

[NM]

Yes, the flight had left London at least an hour late (due to missing passengers, having to search for and then unload their baggage, and then a problem starting one of the engines!!).
I had wondered if it could have been because we were running late but surely that happens all the time? Seems a bit picky to refuse overfly permission because of that. Surely aircraft would be diverted all the time?

I very much doubt that a 1-hour delay will cause the authority problem. The D-suffix on a flight designator normally comes into play when it means there could be confusion between the following day's real flight and the delayed flight with the same number.

 

[burrco]

Perhaps Qantas needs to hire some people with more expertise in this area of the world? I wonder if any former AWB executives are available?

 

[medhead]

I was on QF32 on 13th Feb from LHR to SIN which was the flight that was diverted to DXB for refuelling after being refused permission to overfly Iraq.

Did you feel terrified and lonely when this happened?

 

[kiwitripper64]

I hope QF recalculated all the points to take in the extra sector and milage

 

[plspoon]

Medhead: No I didn't feel terrified and lonely. Should I have? :shock: I did feel "are we there yet?" on a regular basis.

Kiwitripper64: Unfortunately no, I didn't get any extra status credits or points for the re-routing. Bummer.

 

[medhead]

Medhead: No I didn't feel terrified and lonely. Should I have? :shock: I did feel "are we there yet?" on a regular basis.

According to the quote from news.com.au 300 passengers felt terrified and lonely. I'm still wondering how 300 people in a small space can feel lonely.

 

[simongr]

For some people its not hard medhead:

 

[el_rooto]

For some people its not hard medhead:

Reddit Memes on AFF!

 

[jb747]

As mentioned, the "D" callsign is used when substantially delayed (24 hours plus), in which case there will likely be multiple instances of the same flight number airborne simultaneously. It works better than using another number entirely, but it has its own issues. One would think that the ATC centres could work out that there was no flight XYZ yesterday, and we have two today, but no, it often seems to be taken as an attempt to deprive them of overflight payments, and so all sorts of issues follow.

The dynamics of a Dubai divert are a bit painful. Whilst they are well and truly up on A380 operations (and I understand the aircraft was turned around in quite reasonable time), it's simply at the wrong place to be convenient as a fueling stop. Coming from Europe, the aircraft will still be well above max landing weight if you simply fly there and dump all the fuel (that you can). The dump will need to happen way back...possibly around the eastern edge of the Med, for you to have burnt enough fuel out of the feed tanks (which hold roughly 80 tonnes, and from which you can't dump).

And in any event, dumping fuel just so that you can land to get some more, sounds a bit obtuse. But, the non dumping alternatives are only Bangkok and KL (Hyderabad would be a possible, but would still give landing weight issues). Without knowing how much time and fuel was lost in trying to go via Iraq, and then perhaps backtracking, it's almost certain that KL would be out of reach. BKK may be available, in terms of range, but it would overall add about 3 hours to the complete journey. And at the end of it all, and probably colouring all decisions, would be the fact that the aircraft would ultimately run into Sydney curfew problems.

Some numbers for those who like to play with such things...max landing weight 391 tonnes. Max take off 569 tonnes. You cannot dump from the feed tanks, which the fuel system keeps full as long as it can...they hold roughly 80 tonnes. So, at the end of the fuel dump, an aircraft may weigh as much as 440 tonnes. You can land overweight in an emergency. The definition of an emergency is up the the PIC, but be prepared to explain later (especially if something goes wrong). So, you might like to consider....landing overweight for sick passenger....engine shut down (on 4 engined aircraft)....for fuel....etc. Landing weigh is less of an issue in the 747, because you can dump virtually all of the fuel.

 

[plspoon]

How interesting jb747, thank you.
FYI, the flight had to remain in SIN from around noon when we landed until 7:30pm because of the curfew in SYD. So the poor old Sydney passengers were also delayed even though they were already on the same aircraft. At least us Perth passengers knew we had to transfer.

 

[straitman]

According to the quote from news.com.au 300 passengers felt terrified and lonely. I'm still wondering how 300 people in a small space can feel lonely.

.... and/or why they would be terrified :?:

 

[medhead]

.... and/or why they would be terrified :?:

Surely it's obvious that they would be terrified by the fact that qantas was following the instructions about not entering the iraq airspace, not flying over a war zone and making sure they had enough fuel to get to the destination.

Who wouldn't be terrified by that turn of events

 

[straitman]

Surely it's obvious that they would be terrified by the fact that qantas was following the instructions about not entering the iraq airspace, not flying over a war zone and making sure they had enough fuel to get to the destination.

Who wouldn't be terrified by that turn of events

I must be a daredevil :!: :shock: