Ironworks Gaming Forum - Plane Sabotaged!

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Quote:

From correspondents in Kuala Lumpur
October 5, 2003

WIRE cutting that grounded a Perth-bound Malaysia Airlines plane could have been sabotage, and local police were not ruling out "an inside job".

Malaysia Airlines said in a statement late last night two hours before its scheduled departure to Perth in Western Australia, its engineers conducted a mandatory pre-flight check which showed a malfunction signal in the cockpit when it was powered up.

"(The plane) was not released when pre-departure checks indicated inoperable wiring on board," the carrier said.

"Upon further inspection, it was learnt that there could be a possible security breach and the police were promptly notified," it said.

The Malay-language Mingguan Malaysia quotes a police source as saying that it was sabotage and did not rule out the possibility that it was an "inside job" by someone with knowledge of airplanes.

Initial police investigations also show that the plane had suffered massive damage which could cause it to lose control if allowed to fly, the source said.

"What's certain is that the damage was quite severe and now we are focusing on who is responsible for this," the unnamed source was quoted as saying.

If the malfunction had not been detected, it would have caused a disaster, he said.

At least seven bundles of wires were on Thursday found cut on the A-330 aircraft, including those under an instrument panel located under the captain's seat.

The aircraft had arrived at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport on October 1 from Singapore and was later sent to the maintenance bay for a routine inspection.

A replacement was deployed following the discovery of the malfunction.

"There were some discrepancies in the aircraft's systems," said the carrier's corporate services senior general manager Mohamaddon Abdullah.

"We do not compromise on the safety and security of our passengers and aircraft," he said.

Agence France-Presse

Whoa, thank god for pre-departure checks!! Could this of been a possible terrorist plot? It was a flight heading to a western city (Perth, my states capital!), probably full of Australians - perfect western targets for terrorists and it happened so close to october 12th (coincidence maybe). Theres no way seven bundles of wires could be cut through wear or by accident. And if air port security is as good as its made out to be then no one should of been able to get near the plane if they werent suppose to be there. An inside job then, lets just hope they find the guy responsible before he does this again. Background checks of air port staff is looking pretty good right now.

G'day Dragon lord

Thanks for the news update, there is a lot happining behind the scenes regarding 2 747-400 aircraft from malyasian airways that is a great worry to the avation community. Due to (1) protecting my own ass and (2) protecting Ironworks ass, I will not post details tonight *grand final drinks have left me worse for wear* but tomorrow I will let you know more on the subject. This subject could have the potential to become bigger than ben hur.

For your info I work in the industry

Two 747-400 aircraft purchased recently from Malaysian airlines are currently grounded in Sydney Australia. One of them due to a 3 ft crack along one of the aft production joints, with resulting stress cracks amongst adjoining structure. Further investigation has revealed several more extensive areas of damage along other production joints. How many more flights could have been completed before a catastrophic failure would be hard to say. The cause of the damage currently under investigation by several authorities and Boeing, is pointing to the use of some type of grinder. Thank goodness for the extensive and professional inspections carried out that discovered this *fault* the damage is in areas that are permanently covered by sealant.

I have seen this damage myself and in 23 years in aviation I have never seen or even heard of this sort of, and scale of damage. You will notice that I choosing my words carefully from information that has been released to the press. There is of course a fine line between making the public aware and the danger of causing panic.

If people want to discuss this more they can email me.