Carrier Says No Emergency Declared

On Tuesday, a Qantas 747-400 with 288 passengers on board bound for Auckland, New Zealand was forced to return to LAX, after the pilot noticed a 'vibration issue' with one of the engines about 11 pm.

David Cox, Executive General Manager of Qantas Engineering, denied it was an emergency landing.

"After take-off, the aircraft conducted what we call an 'air return' following indications of a vibration issue with one of the aircraft's four engines. The pilot shut down the engine as a precaution and the aircraft landed without incident. No emergency was declared and there was no safety issue at any time," he said.

But, according to The Sydney Morning Herald, a reader, who wished to remain anonymous, gave a different account.

"Sparks came out of the front engine and the back and would have lit up the night sky near LA," he said.

Qantas rebooked affected passengers on other flights with the carrier, as well as on Air New Zealand flights to Auckland.

"It's possible there may have been sparks emanating from the engine as a result of the vibration," a Qantas spokesman said. "They were flying at night and if there was some sparking that would have been very visible."

FMI: www.qantas.com, www.lawa.org/lax/