Qantas 737 sent overseas for maintenance catches fire, resulting in extensive repairs

A Qantas 737 has needed more extensive repairs than first thought after a forgotten vacuum sparked a fire in the cargo hold, which went undetected for hours.

A Qantas Boeing 737 undergoing heavy maintenance in Hong Kong has needed a lot more repair work after a battery-powered vacuum caught fire in the cargo hold, causing extensive damage.

The 20-year-old aircraft — named Bathurst Island — was flown to Hong Kong from Cairns in late April to undergo routine maintenance at the Hong Kong Aircraft Engineering Company.

A Qantas engineer who spoke to The Australian on the condition of anonymity said the vacuum’s battery had overheated which sparked the blaze.

As a result there was considerable damage to the rear fuselage, requiring the assistance of Boeing to oversee repairs which have kept the 737 out of action.

Heavy maintenance involves disassembling almost all of the aircraft to thoroughly inspect every component and check the structural integrity of the airframe.

The process normally takes about four weeks, but as a result of the fire in early May, this aircraft was still undergoing repairs.

Boeing 737-800 aircraft are the backbone of the Qantas fleet, operating much of the airline’s domestic and short-haul international schedule.

A Qantas spokesman confirmed the incident occurred last month in the 737 registered VH-VYI.

“One of our aircraft undergoing scheduled maintenance suffered minor damage when a vacuum cleaner used by our maintenance provider caught fire in the cargo hold,” he said.

“It was quickly extinguished and repairs to the aircraft will be completed prior to the 737 returning to service.”

The aircraft was due to return in mid-July, and Qantas said there were no impacts to scheduled flights.

HAECO is a Civil Aviation Safety Authority-accredited maintenance repair and overhaul (MRO) provider, with all work undertaken on Qantas aircraft overseen and approved by one of the airline’s own engineers on-site.

Qantas employs more than 6000 people in its maintenance facilities in Australia but also uses offshore facilities for specialised expertise and cost savings, to the frustration of the Australian Licensed Aircraft Engineers Association which would prefer to see such work performed onshore.

Boeing 737-800s are the backbone of the Qantas’ operations with 75 in the fleet, five of which are currently parked including two in Hong Kong and three in Brisbane.

In February, Qantas announced plans to upgrade the cabins of 42 of the younger 737s to match the interior of new A321XLRs coming into the domestic and short-haul international fleet.

The work is due to start next year, with the first refurbished 737 set to take to the skies in 2027 with new business and economy seats, larger overhead lockers and new carpets and mood lighting.

Qantas expects to take delivery of the first of 28 A321XLRs on order from Airbus early next month.

Originally published as Qantas 737 sent overseas for maintenance catches fire, resulting in extensive repairs