Jetstar Flight JQ12 Diverted to Guam after Having to Turn Off One of its Engines Mid-Flight

9th Aug 2016

A Jetstar JQ12 bound for the Gold Coast from Narita, Japan was forced to divert to the Pacific island of Guam after experiencing mid-flight issues with one of its engines. Fortunately, even though the crew had to switch off one of the General Electric-manufactured GEnx engines on the plane, the 320 passengers on board landed safely with the remaining engine.

A spokesman for the Australian carrier said the following concerning the Dreamliner incident:

"This is a relatively new ?engine so it's unusual to have an issue like this so soon. We have asked engine manufacturer GE for an explanation. GE has a team which is working with our engineers to understand what occurred."

The engine was said to be installed only three months ago, prompting the question as to why it started malfunctioning so soon. It was fitted to the plane as a replacement of the same engine model that was in need of repair after nine months.

This could prove to be a big problem for Qantas, Jetstar's parent airline as it prepares for a delivery of eight GEnx-powered Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners from October, 2017. The Dreamliners are supposed to become the flagship planes on Qantas' international routes and to replace the older 747s.

A spokesman from GE refused to comment on the recurring problems with the GEnx engine, saying only that they are working closely with Jetstar in finding out why JQ12 made an unscheduled landing in Guam.

Before this particular incident, several other carriers had problems with GEnx engines during their flights. In February, Air Indian Boeing 787 encountered similar problems and had to switch off one of the engines. Another such problem occurred in April with Xiamen Airlines-operated B787, which had to shut down the engine due to oil pressure problems.

Most recently, Qatar Airways Norway-Qatar flight had to be diverted after the crew had to shut down one of the GEnx engines mid-flight.

In total, nine different aircraft had in-flight problems with GEnx engines within the past 12 months.

Jetstar passengers finally reached the Gold Coast yesterday at 9:40 p.m. on another Dreamliner.