A UNITED Airlines flight bound for San Francisco was forced to turn back to Sydney within two hours of departure after the jumbo jet reportedly clipped its tail during takeoff.
A United spokeswoman confirmed that the Boeing B747-400 returned to Sydney for maintenance checks but would not confirm a Channel 9 report about the tail incident.
“I can confirm that UA870 departed from Sydney at 2.45 pm for San Francisco today and has returned to Sydney Airport for maintenance checks,” she told AFP. “It landed without incident at 4.20 pm. We’ve got no further information at this time.”
The 220 passengers on board had been put up in hotels and arrangements would be made for alternative flights on Saturday, according to the carrier.
Sydney Airport confirmed the plane had been forced to turn back, but could not comment on the reason.
A Dubai-bound Emirates flight was forced to make an emergency landing an hour after taking off from Melbourne in March 2009 after scraping its tail on the tarmac, causing smoke to fill the rear of the cabin.
It landed safely and without injuries, and subsequent investigations found incorrect weight data entered into the in-flight computer system was to blame.
Source: The Herald Sun
By: Arabella-Cox - 9th May 2010 at 13:42
Ok I see that the report was referring to the Emirates A340. That’s right, captains don’t make mistaikes, heh, heh! 😀
By: Ship 741 - 9th May 2010 at 13:09
It couldn’t have been the Captain…..they don’t make mistakes…:D
By: Arabella-Cox - 9th May 2010 at 07:02
Who put the incorrect weight into the computer?
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May 8, 2010 at 11:03 am