On July 30, 2010 at about 12:55 PM (local) a Qantas Boeing 747-400, registration VH-OJP, flight QF-74, experienced an uncontained No. 4 engine failure about 45 minutes after departure from San Francisco, CA. The flight crew reported that the failure occurred as the airplane was climbing through FL250. There were 212 passengers and 19 crewmembers aboard. The flight destination was Sydney, NS, Australia. The crew shut the engine down, descended the aircraft to FL200, dumped fuel over the Pacific Ocean and returned to San Francisco for a safe landing about 80 minutes after departure. No injuries were reported. Post-event inspection found a large hole in the outboard side of the No. 4 engine nacelle, in the vicinity of the engine turbine section. Additional airframe damage has not been reported. The airplane is powered by Rolls-Royce RB211 turbofan engines.

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