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Cockpit fire diverts Australian jet to Guam

June 11th, 2009 - 2:30 pm ICT by IANS Tell a Friend -

Sydney, June 11 (DPA) A fire in the cockpit of a Jetstar Airways passenger jet flying from Japan to Australia forced its diversion to Guam Thursday, the airline said.

The Airbus A330-200 is the same model as the Air France plane that plunged into the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Brazil last week killing all aboard.

Flight JQ20 landed without incident and all 203 passengers and crew were safe.

Four hours into the flight, the cockpit filled with smoke and flames were seen in the right-hand window.

“Smoke became evident in the cockpit and one of our pilots was required to use an extinguisher,” Jetstar spokesman Simon Westaway said.

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau has sent a team to Guam to examine the plane.

Jetstar chief executive Geoff Buchanan told reporters the aircraft was two years old and had been serviced in Australia in May.

“The window in question is an originally fitted window by the manufacturer,” Buchanan said. “We haven’t experienced anything like this before. Obviously, it’s too early to speculate on the causes of it and we’ll be doing a full investigation in conjunction with obviously Qantas engineering and the relevant authorities.”

Jetstar is the budget airline subsidiary of Australia’s Qantas Airways.



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