World | Australia
Air New Zealand plane guides Qantas jet after radar fails
A Qantas airliner that discovered its weather radar was faulty tailed an Air New Zealand jet across the Pacific on a Wednesday flight from Los Angeles to Sydney, an official said.
- Agencies
- Published: 19:41 October 30, 2008
Canberra: A Qantas airliner that discovered its weather radar was faulty tailed an Air New Zealand jet across the Pacific on a Wednesday flight from Los Angeles to Sydney, an official said.
The Air New Zealand flight crew provided information about the weather ahead to the Qantas Boeing 747-400 jumbo jet carrying 284 passengers as the two aircraft made the 12-hour journey to Auckland in New Zealand, a Qantas spokeswoman said on condition of anonymity, citing company policy.
The fault is the latest in a series of high-profile malfunctions and near-misses for Australia's flagship carrier in recent months that have drawn attention to its safety standards. The Qantas flight later continued on to Sydney, its scheduled destination.
The Qantas plane was a few hours into its flight when it "experienced a weather radar defect," the company's spokeswoman said.
"An Air New Zealand flight ... was a short distance ahead and it provided the Qantas aircraft with information from its own radar system throughout the journey," she said.
Passenger Sean Lygo said he became curious when the pilot announced that the flight would be diverted to Auckland.
"He explained they'd been flying blind and he'd found an Air New Zealand jet to guide them in," Lygo, a Sydney resident, told Network Nine television news. "There was no drama, no panic."
The Qantas jet first landed in Auckland, which was the Air New Zealand plane's scheduled destination, she said. It arrived Sydney about four hours late.
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