Incident Overview
On July 30, 2010, at approximately 12:55 PM local time, a Qantas Boeing 747-400 (registration VH-OJP) operating as flight QF-74 from San Francisco, California, to Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, experienced an uncontained failure of its No. 4 engine. The failure occurred about 45 minutes after departure as the aircraft was climbing through flight level 250 (FL250). The aircraft carried 212 passengers and 19 crew members.
Actions Taken
The flight crew responded by shutting down the affected engine, descending the aircraft to FL200, and dumping fuel over the Pacific Ocean. The aircraft returned to San Francisco, landing safely approximately 80 minutes after departure.
Aftermath
No injuries were reported among passengers or crew. Post-event inspection revealed a large hole in the outboard side of the No. 4 engine nacelle, near the turbine section. No additional airframe damage has been reported. The aircraft is powered by Rolls-Royce RB211 turbofan engines.
Investigation
The incident is under investigation by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB). Contact information for the ATSB was provided in the original report.