Cathay suspends four Boeing 777-300 jets after engine falls apart mid-flig

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HONG KONG - Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd. said Wednesday it has suspended four of its 10 Boeing 777-300 jets after an engine part fell off one of them and smashed onto a car as the plane flew over Thailand last week.

The Dec. 1 incident, in which a 5-foot-wide and 6.6-foot-long section of an engine duct plummeted to the ground, forcing Flight CX751 bound for Bombay to turn back to the Thai capital, Bangkok.

There were no casualties, but the falling debris destroyed the windscreen and roof of a Nissan parked near Bangkok's international airport.

At a news briefing, Cathay said it has since checked all of its 10 Boeing B777-300s and found problems with engine ducts in four of them.
http://www.thestate.com/mld/thestate/business/10368700.htm

[BOHICA06]

1. I hate when that happens! n/t

[havocmom]

2. The terrorist attack we are more likely to be a victim of is corporate

greed. Cutting corners in manufacturing/maintenance probably hits more people in the world than car bombs and hijacked planes.

[WildClarySage]

3. Which is why they find "tort reform" such a priority

so that there is no accountability.

[Bono71]

6. Even John Edwards is for some kind of tort reform...

Our enlightened brothers in Europe don't have near the liberal tort laws/awards that we have in the US. Our system needs reform, it is just a matter of how we go about doing it.

[Bono71]

5. Ummm...the corporation, not the government, was the entity

that suspended the flights...you might want to rethink your blanket statement.

[havocmom]

11. Nope, I will stand by my blanket statement that corporate greed is the

most dangerous terror in the world today. On the rare occasion they do the right thing, you know their backs are to the wall. My guess is there were disgruntled pilots and insurance agents involved in this particular decision.

Greed is what brought down communism and what is gonna bring down capitalism. It is what makes workers insecure and consumers in danger. It destroys the environment and cripples young children. More people are hurt/killed by the terror of corporate greed than the terror that gets more headlines.

Hope you don't have arthritis... those drugs going off market FINALLY makes it tough, just as one of thousands of illustrations of my point.

[Bono71]

12. Whether you like it or not, capitalism is the best way

(that we have devised) to build and distribute wealth. Whether you prefer a capitalist society modeled after those in western europe or the united states, the ability to invest and reap the rewards of that investment will be around until the big meteor hits the earth and we all go back to hunting and gathering.

Greed is a part of human emotion and instinct. It can be a very bad thing. But capitalism, is nuetral. It is up to society to legislate fairness and harness the power of markets.

Yes, corporations will try to get away (in some cases) with murder. But that is why we have laws, both civil and criminal for such things.

And no, greed is not what killed communism. It is a flawed system built upon flawed ideas that ignore markets.

[havocmom]

14. Capitalism is also a flawed system. It is flawed in that it operates in

an environment where it has to deal with human nature. Some human nature is good. Some is great. Some is the shits and too much greed, too much "I want more more more and to hell with EVERYTHING & EVERYONE else" is what will do capitalism in too.

Where did I say I didn't like capitalism? I said Greed was gonna do it in just like greed did in communism. Leave excessive greed out of just about anything, and most political/economic systems will preform better.

[Bono71]

15. Well, we agree on most everything except the

"Greed will do capitalism in" part. I think (and I hope) the time for that came during the twenties and then the great depression. FDR saved capitalism from itself. We need more people like him.

There are laws on the books that protect against greed and corruption. Letting a dangerous drug onto the market now, may raise a stock price for a year or so, but when the shit hits the fan, that company is gone. That alone, keeps many on the straight and narrow.

Its not perfect (for sure) but it is the best alternative.

[Placebo]

4. The Boeing 777-300 is one of the safest planes in the world.

It has a near perfect safety record, offering passengers unsurpassed comfort, and operators unsurpassed fuel efficiency and versatility.

I would get on one of them this very second. The plane is designed to be able to fly continuously with only one engine operating. I'm sure this is just an isolated incident and Boeing will investigate it fully.

[Parche]

7. 777

Exactly, it was the engine, not the plane itself

[Ready4Change]

9. It was the shroud around the engine, not the engine itself.

And the plane was able to turn around and land.

777 seems to be a good plane. Be interesting to see what examinations of their shrouds will show. There are problems with even the best of planes. The very best identify and fix their problems.

[arcos]

8. Near perfect record... but it has been flying for only 6 years... n/t

[rooboy]

10. Yikes - one of my mates is a Cathay airline pilot... n/t

[sphincter]

13. No worries...

My girlfriend is a Cathay stewardess and she didn't seem to worried. She is on her way to Tokyo as we speak...