Home again – the repairs and the return of Qantas A380 VH‑OQA Nancy-Bird Walton

Over 40 tonnes of tooling and jacks were shipped to Singapore to support the repair of VH-OQA. (Qantas)

“Profound” is how Captain Richard Champion de Crespigny described the significance of A380 VH-OQA Nancy-Bird Walton’s return to the Qantas fleet.

Qantas’s first Airbus A380 and hence the symbolic flagship of the airline’s fleet, VH-OQA returned safely to Singapore under Captain de Crespigny’s command after an uncontained explosive failure of its number two Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engine soon after takeoff when bound for Sydney on November 4 2010, operating flight QF32.

This content is available exclusively to Australian Aviation members.

Become a Member

To continue reading the rest of this article, please login.

Username or Email

Password Forgot password?

Keep me signed in on this device.

To unlock all Australian Aviation magazine content and again unlimited access to our daily news and features, become a member today!
A monthly membership is only $5.99 or save with our annual plans.

$49.95 for 1 year Become a Member

See benefits

Australian Aviation quarterly print & digital magazines
Access to In Focus reports every month on our website

Ted

May 11, 2018 at 6:10 pm

Shows what Australia can do with the best know how n the best air line

Jeffrey

May 11, 2018 at 6:11 pm

I love it when the suits get involved, it’s like they are thre ones that saved the day and did all the real work…

O.vandevelde

May 11, 2018 at 6:34 pm

As an Australian, I have a natural affinity to things Qantas and do appreciate that all airlines take care for,their product, BUT, the article does show all people who really care that flying with our carrier, we truly are in safe hands. Well done to all,people involved with this amazing ‘maintenance’

Wayne Rieck

May 11, 2018 at 7:12 pm

First of all i must congratulate the crew of the Qantas plane for getting the plane back on the ground safely, one assumes it is all in a days work, but that was an exceptional incident and was not a normal days work.
I always wonder why the passengers were not deplaned at an earlier time then what they were, if i was in the plane i would want to get out as quickly as possible, especially as i think there was a high risk of fire.
In my ignorance i would have deplaned the passengers as soon as it came to a stop on the opposite side of the damaged area,
That is what they did at the incident in the USA where the female passenger was almost sucked out of the plane, The plane landed and as soon as it stopped they deplaned the passengers using the emergency shoots so i am a bit confused as to the different procedures over these two incidents

Phil Davis
says:

July 6, 2019 at 9:07 am

Wayne – as noted in the story ; one engine could NOT be shut down; fuel was leaking from the damaged wing cells etc. At the time it was decided by those in charge – it was safer for the passengers to remain on-board, until some of these problems could be sorted. ..

Greg Beveridge

May 11, 2018 at 8:19 pm

Amazing ………

John Visser

May 11, 2018 at 8:27 pm

Captain Bruce Simpson – my first flying instructor in 1983…. ?

David

May 11, 2018 at 9:19 pm

Wayne , combustible aviation fuel was still leaking and flooding tarmac areas. Check “QF 32 ” a personal autobiography of the incident.

Tomcat Terry

May 12, 2018 at 1:08 am

Whatever happened to the damaged wing sections?
Part of Australian aviation history now.
Would be great to have them in a museum

David Fix

May 12, 2018 at 1:11 am

congrats to the crew of this wonderful jet for getting her home safely well done boys

Francisco Miguez Vaca

May 12, 2018 at 1:28 am

Excellent work by the manufacturer, the airline, the flight crews, and all the technical teams involved in the repair, and subsequent tests, culminating with bringing back this awesome aircraft into service. This is the kind of combined effort which produces this remarkable result, and gives the flying public total confidence in the professionalism found in the commercial aviation industry.

KFB

May 12, 2018 at 6:53 am

This just proves that we all can rely on Qantas to get us to where we want to go safely. Well done Qantas. You have had me as a customer for my entire life and I never intend to change that.

Brett

May 12, 2018 at 8:20 am

And this is one reason why I’ll always choose the A380 over the 787 for longhauls! It’s a beast of an airplane that has proved itself. And it has 4 engines. I’m not in aviation but when you’re spending so many hours on these long hauls over oceans, I just feel so much safer with that much redundancy built in.

Wally

May 12, 2018 at 9:14 am

Good propaganda for QF!!

Derek Birch

May 12, 2018 at 9:44 am

If you read the Captain’s auto-biography, you will better understand the critical situation immediately the aircraft stopped.
Avgas gushing from ruptured wing tanks, an engine that couldn’t be shut down and wheel brakes on fire at an estimated 1100 deg. C. ?

Pontius

May 12, 2018 at 10:08 am

Great article. Waiting for the print version of your fine new version of the mag.
Does anyone remember the Boeing assisted repairs to a B727 involved in a takeoff collision at Sydney?

James

May 12, 2018 at 12:07 pm

@ Wayne
Easy to critique at your keyboard. Job well done by the crew. I wouldn’t have evacuated straight up.
@ Derek Birch
They run on Jet A1, not AVGAS.

Jim D

May 12, 2018 at 12:08 pm

The Qantas crew on the actual flight were remarkable having spoken to a passenger who was on that flight.
What could’ve been Australia’s biggest transport disaster has become it’s finest hour.
To the entire technical crew who put this fantastic plane back together , you’re amazing.
I look forward to flying on her one day.

Peter F

May 12, 2018 at 2:30 pm

Crew training and engineering excellence is embedded in Qantas’ DNA. Never let the accountants change that.

Ted Giddings

May 12, 2018 at 4:10 pm

Folks , Australian Aviation Have Done Great Job.
Posting The Above V Insightful Article.Seems To Us Just About EVERYBODY Achieved Win – Win
In Hindsight.
Shows What AUSTRALIA’s Airline Can Achieve Given Best “Know How,” Realistically Available
Cheers ,
Ted

John

May 12, 2018 at 4:36 pm

Had the privilege of flying to LHR in 2015 on OQA. If ever there was an aircraft that was really going to be safe, I knew it would be Nancy-Bird after all that meticulous work. To add to the experience, there was Richard De Crespigny leading his crew into action at Dubai for the final leg and he was very quick to point out into the flight that he had a special relationship with this aircraft (most on the flight would not have known what he was talking about) and that she was as tough and strong as old boots (my words). To top it all off, the air bridge at LHR failed to engage and Captain De Crespigny came down to great us at the door as we finally emerged after an extended delay. He has no doubt been congratulated and patted on the back thousands of times for the heroic work that day including his crew of course also, but it was my turn next in line to offer my humble congratulations, small words indeed. Great to be Qantas!

J Wierzbicki

May 12, 2018 at 5:27 pm

Absolutelyamazing feat of accomplishment – of engineering, collaboration, project management. I am so proud of Qantas! I will continue tofly the A380 whenever I can, especially after reading this superb article of an over-engineered plane. I flew the A380 (upstairs) from Doha to Sydney only 10 days ago, and love the aircraft!
Well done A380, and we’ll done Qantas to all!!

john doutch

May 13, 2018 at 12:04 am

I have a signed copy of Richards book. I have read it 6 times, over and over, an enthralling story. Get the book folks, its worth reading

Andy

May 13, 2018 at 10:53 am

Well done to all concerned
Congratulation’s, to Airbus & QANTAS
OQA Back where she belongs “Flying Again”

Neil

May 13, 2018 at 7:05 pm

@Pontius
My father was aboard VH-TJA – the 727 involved in that incident.
At the time I was only 13 years old and didn’t appreciate just how close they came to disaster.
Kudos to the flight crew for keeping their nerve – otherwise I would have grown up without a father.

Tony

May 15, 2018 at 10:22 am

Vh-tja comments made me read the full accident report. Wow! Given this taxi back down the runway accident happened before the Tenerife catastrophe it seems lessons did not get learnt to avoid that runway collision.

Richard de crespigny

May 16, 2018 at 8:42 am

Thanks again Gerard for this insightful and full report. It shows the depth of teamwork required to design, build, certify, operate and repair the most complex machinery in high risk environments and deliver a level of service and safety that is unimaginable and the envy of other industries. In the US in 2013, one hospitalization has the same risk of accidental death as 70,000 one-hour commercial flights.
There is so much more to tell about the environments the high reliability organizations operate in and how we do/don’t remain safe. After 4 hard years of work my next book on resilience comes out (in September) and providing culling the word count by half has not done too much damage, I hope it will show and give pride to the culture, systems, processes, people and human factors of the people who work in extraordinary teams to make aviation and other HROs safe.
Hopefully most people will now have also reflected on the CEO’s decision to ground the A380 fleet after that flight – a decision in confusing times that was not replicated by other airlines that used the same engines.
We must not discount the essential need for intrepid leaders who make decisions most others fear, and who set the culture that permeates the entire business. 8 years later, after having viewed many varied leadership styles in other companies and other industries, I, along with every other airline employee, remain proud to carry the torch of safety and to do whatever it takes to protect the lives of passengers and their loved ones. Passengers would want and deserve nothing less.
Its an honor to fly and work with like-minded professionals in the world’s safest high-risk industry.

Michael von Reth

May 17, 2018 at 9:55 am

I wish to mention also the outstanding contribution of the entire cabin crew, the excellent CRM and communication between the pilots and the cabin crew, as well as the efforts of the cabin crew who cared for the passengers and performed their safety duties during the unfolding emergency and subsequent safe disembarkation of the passengers at Singapore Changi Airport. This is no easy task either, particularly when you talk about an aircraft the size of the A380, with two large cabins, twenty three cabin crew and about 450 people on board. It is during moments like this that the thorough training, professionalism and skills of crew come to the forefront of everybodies thinking and actions. It reflects the great training and safety culture this Company has displayed, trained and practised throughout its entire operational life.

ian

May 22, 2018 at 4:12 pm

give it a break Ted. Qantas is just another airline. Would rather fly that other Australian flag carrier Virgin anyday.

Bill O’Neill

May 12, 2019 at 3:12 am

My maiden flight to SYD was QF8 from DFW aboard Nancy-Bird. It wasn’t until later, when my Australian brother-in-law explained the history, that I appreciated the honor of that opportunity. Four Qantas A380 flights later, we’re hooked.

Terence O’Neill-Joyce

August 7, 2020 at 8:02 am

Always felt uncomfortable on the 787-9 but never on that 380 brute.
Both the post mortem on the incident, death defying, has me deciding to
Re-engage with QF as a lifetime gold client.
Also I do congratulate Both Airbus and Qantas, more for the companionship during repairs and rebuild, a lesson to us all in these troubled times, pull together, work together, that there were tears proves the reality of that old the fashioned work effort endures. Thank you

Comments are closed.