Flights aborted following wasp infestation
06 February 2008Three Qantas flights were aborted after a wasp infestation was found at Brisbane airport, a recent safety report has revealed.
A study by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau revealed that the three flights had to be called off during take-off owing to the impact that large numbers of wasps had on the planes' airspeed measuring equipment.
Qantas' Airbus A330 fleet was thought to be the worst affected by the problem of insects nesting inside aircraft as they were idle on the tarmac.
In one incident, which may have led to some people relying on their travel insurance to cover the cancellation, an aircraft was stranded on the runway after the method used to stop the plane caused the brakes to overheat and the tyres to deflate.
The pilot in control was forced to apply the brakes when the jet was travelling at 122 knots (226km/h) after he noticed a discrepancy in the speed readings, Australia's News.com reports.
A sweep of the airport found up to 30 wasp nests. Qantas subsequently implemented a plan of weekly checks of ground equipment for infestation.