A Fiji Airways Boeing 737-800 carrying more than 170 passengers safely landed in Christchurch after striking a bird during take-off and spending two hours circling to burn fuel.
The emergency prompted a precautionary response, with the aircraft entering a holding pattern above Canterbury before making a controlled return to the airport around 4:45pm. Fiji Airways said all passengers and crew were safe and that safety remains the airline’s top priority.
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2 COMMENTS
Fiji Airways said all passengers and crew drunk the bar dry and all the nuts and chips were gone too. Let’s do it again sometime.
Note- the 737’s do not have fuel dump capabilities, and this should have been built-in to the fuel system in order to lighten the aircraft for it’s maximum gross landing weight.
What this essentially does is to prolong an in-emergency due to landing weight restrictions.
IF you have an on-board fire, an engine that huffs, or a controllability issue, this only ‘prolongs the suffering’ while increasing the risks of further adverse inflight conditions.
Even the Hercules and other Boeing aircraft have a fuel dump system, and it’s preferable to dump the fuel in the event of an ocean ditching. That way, the aircraft is lighter, and will float for a bit in order to get the passengers into life rafts.
If I remember, this is what Captain Sullenberger did prior to going into the Hudson River with his Airbus.
Had this scenario involved a 737, the outcome would have been very different.
In the meantime, the radome will be replaced, and the damaged one discarded.
Fiji Airways said all passengers and crew drunk the bar dry and all the nuts and chips were gone too. Let’s do it again sometime.
Note- the 737’s do not have fuel dump capabilities, and this should have been built-in to the fuel system in order to lighten the aircraft for it’s maximum gross landing weight.
What this essentially does is to prolong an in-emergency due to landing weight restrictions.
IF you have an on-board fire, an engine that huffs, or a controllability issue, this only ‘prolongs the suffering’ while increasing the risks of further adverse inflight conditions.
Even the Hercules and other Boeing aircraft have a fuel dump system, and it’s preferable to dump the fuel in the event of an ocean ditching. That way, the aircraft is lighter, and will float for a bit in order to get the passengers into life rafts.
If I remember, this is what Captain Sullenberger did prior to going into the Hudson River with his Airbus.
Had this scenario involved a 737, the outcome would have been very different.
In the meantime, the radome will be replaced, and the damaged one discarded.