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+--- Thread: Qantas pilot tells passengers 'we're a tad busy up here' as plane engine explodes (/thread-qantas-pilot-tells-passengers-we-re-a-tad-busy-up-here-as-plane-engine-explodes)
Qantas pilot tells passengers 'we're a tad busy up here' as plane engine explodes - forwardone - 09-03-2010 11:11 AM
A pilot struck an understated tone after one of the engines in the Qantas plane he was flying exploded following take-off by telling passengers “we’re a tad busy up here”.
Passengers on a Qantas jet en route from San Francisco to Sydney began screaming after hearing a loud explosion and seeing flames coming from the engine.
The captain, who has not been named, tried to reassure those on board by saying: “Normally, we do it in a simulator, of course – but we are trained.”
The Boeing 747-400 had to turn back to San Francisco about half an hour into Monday’s flight after an engine failed, blasting a large hole in its casing.
Video footage captured by one of the 212 passengers on board picked up the pilot’s message over the tannoy as panic spread through the aircraft.
On the tape he said: “Ladies and gentlemen, as you can appreciate we’re a tad busy in the flight deck at the moment and we’ll come back to you with some more information.
“In the meantime, you must be assured that we are trained for this situation. Normally, we do it in a simulator, of course – but we are trained.”
Passengers described yesterday how it felt like the plane had hit a “speed bump”, sending shudders through the aircraft.
No one was injured and the aircraft landed without incident, with the passengers taking a later flight.
Qantas, Australia’s national airline, said investigations were under way into the incident, which it described as “excessive vibration” in one of the plane’s four Rolls-Royce engines.
Initial checks confirmed that the engine had failed, and a spokesman said there were a couple of “holes” in the casing.
telegraph.co.uk