Qantas jet plunge blamed on computer

A COMPUTER glitch is believed to have contributed to a Qantas jet's wild ride off Western Australia which left 14 passengers seriously injured.

Investigators believe the malfunction left the pilots without control of the A330-300 aircraft as it climbed and then plummeted, hurling passengers around.

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau is investigating Tuesday's incident on a Qantas flight from Singapore to Perth.

Initial investigations show that the jet, carrying 303 passengers and 10 crew, was flying at 37,000 feet, 204 kilometres off Carnarvon in Western Australia, when its pilots received an electronic message of an "irregularity" with the elevator control system, the function that sets the stability of an aircraft.

The bureau's director of aviation safety investigation, Julian Walsh, said the plane climbed about 100 metres by itself before diving about the same distance.

He said some of the passengers and cabin crew were thrown around the cabin, mainly in the rear of the aircraft.

The crew sent a mayday call and managed to control the aircraft, before making an emergency landing on an RAAF airstrip at the WA town of Learmonth 40 minutes after the drama began.

Fourteen people were taken by air ambulance to Perth with broken bones and cuts.

Thirty others were taken to Exmouth Hospital with concussion, minor cuts and fractures. A further 30 were given first aid.

The plane is grounded at Learmonth, where seven investigators from the safety bureau will analyse the flight data recorder, which they expect will shed more light on what happened.

The bureau will provide a preliminary report within a month.

Mr Walsh said there was no indication that the accident was due to a general fault with the five-year-old aircraft, which he said had a good safety record around the world.

Maintenance of the aircraft would be assessed as part of the investigation, he said.

Qantas said it would refund fares and give passengers travel vouchers equivalent to the value of a flight from Australia to London. Other compensation and medical costs would be assessed on an individual basis.

The airline's chief executive, Geoff Dixon, said it was doing everything possible to help the passengers and crew.

The incident continues a horror year for Qantas, during which it has been rebuked by the air safety watchdog for a series of maintenance problems.

It follows an emergency landing by a Melbourne-bound flight in Manila in July after an oxygen tank exploded, blowing a hole in the plane's fuselage.

The Civil Aviation Safety Authority and the head of the Australian and International Pilots Association, Captain Ian Woods, said the latest accident highlighted the need for passengers to wear seatbelts.

Investors deserted Qantas in droves yesterday, wiping 7% of its share price, which finished 21 cents down at $2.90.

But in some good news for Qantas flyers, the airline cut its fuel surcharge on international flights to reflect lower oil prices. From today, flights to Britain and Europe have fallen $20, North and South America by $15 and New Zealand by $5.

http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2008/10/09/1223145493800.html
Fonte: Flight Safety Information 09/10/2008.