Quantas Straps an Extra Engine to A Boeing 747 for transport

This Qantas Boeing 747 checked some excess baggage for a recent flight - a spare engine strapped to the wing. The airline had to transport an engine to Johannesburg, South Africa. The engine was not used during the flight and was only there for the ride.

Image courtesy Quantas Airlines

A behind the scenes look at Qantas as we transport a fifth Rolls Royce engine on a Boeing 747 from Sydney to Perth and on to Johannesburg.

Update

Carrying a fifth pod is a standard, certified capability rather than an improvisation. The 747 was designed from the outset with a hardpoint on the left wing, between the fuselage and the inboard engine, for exactly this: ferrying a spare engine to an aircraft stranded somewhere without one.

The engine is carried inert — no fuel, no oil, and usually with the fan removed and the inlet faired over to cut drag. It cannot be used in flight. The aircraft simply flies with reduced performance and a weight and drag penalty, and the crew work to a modified set of limitations.

The alternative is dismantling an engine and shipping it as freight, which takes far longer at a moment when an aircraft is out of service and losing money by the hour.

With the 747 retired from most passenger fleets the capability is now rare, and Qantas retired its own 747s in July 2020.