Dozens Injured As Qantas Jet Plunges

Sydney Morning Herald

Wednesday October 8, 2008

Paul Bibby with AAP and WA Today

THE transport safety watchdog is investigating an accident that sent a Qantas passenger jet plunging earthwards, injuring at least 40 passengers and crew, 15 seriously, and forcing the pilot to make an emergency landing.

Flight 72 was travelling yesterday from Singapore to Perth carrying 303 passengers about 1:30pm WA time when it suddenly lost altitude. The crew made a mayday call, and the A330 aircraft made an emergency landing at Learmonth airport, a former military airstrip, 1250 kilometres north of Perth.

Fifteen passengers and crew, who were predominantly at the rear of the aircraft, had suffered serious injuries, including broken bones and severe lacerations, during the drop in altitude.

Dozens of emergency service officers waiting beside the airstrip surrounded the aircraft after it stopped, and paramedics treated the injured, who were taken to Exmouth Hospital, 12 kilometres away.

The condition of the injured was listed as stable or better last night. Qantas sent two aircraft, a B767 and a B717, to Learmouth to fly the other passengers to Perth.

The incident activated a huge effort on the part of West Australia's emergency services. Police, ambulance and fire brigade members drawn from many surrounding towns and regions were called in to help, and the police force's State Crisis Centre in Perth swung into action

A Qantas spokesman said it was too early to speculate on the cause of the plunge, but the West Australian Police Commissioner, Karl O'Callaghan, said he understood the incident was caused by "some sort of systems failure".

Local media reported that an instrument fault had been a contributing factor.

A passenger on the flight, who used to work for the Civil Aviation Safety Authority, told reporters that whatever caused the plunge was so severe it caused people to hit their heads on the ceiling.

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau said it had initiated a safety investigation and was making arrangements for two investigators to travel to Learmonth last night. The safety bureau said that the causes it was investigating included turbulence and other natural phenomena.

There have been several mid-air incidents involving Qantas aircraft in recent months, and the Civil Aviation Safety Authority has investigated the airline's safety procedures.

Flight QF30 from Hong Kong to Melbourne was forced to make an emergency landing in Manila on July 25 when an oxygen bottle exploded ripping a gaping hole in the 747-400's fuselage.

Later in the same week a domestic flight had to return to Adelaide after a flap covering a wheel bay failed to close properly.

The Civil Aviation Safety Authority's review found that Qantas was failing to meet virtually any of its maintenance benchmarks and that operational divisions in the company could result in essential tasks being overlooked.

The review found that although the recent spate of incidents involving Qantas aircraft were not linked, there were broad "deficiencies" in the airline's maintenance program. It elected to undertake two further investigations to ensure the airline was meeting its obligations.

The Royal Flying Doctor Service was last night preparing to send up to four aircraft to Exmouth.

"It depends on the strength of the illness but generally we have two stretchers in each aircraft," said the service's public affairs director, Lesleigh Green. "So we're expecting to maybe bring back ... six to eight possibly."

© 2008 Sydney Morning Herald

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