Computer Error Blamed For Qantas Drama

The Age

Thursday October 9, 2008

By Mathew Murphy, Aviation Reporter

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 40minutes 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 incident continues a horror year for Qantas, in 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 21cents 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.

INCIDENT OVER CARNARVON

Qantas Flight 72, an Airbus A330-300 aircraft, had 303 passengers and 10 crew on board. It was on a normal level flight at 37,000 ft about 80 nautical miles from Learmonth, when the pilots received electronic centralised aircraft monitoring messages in the cockpit relating to some irregularity with the aircraft's elevator control system.

1 Aircraft flying normally at 37,000 feet

2 Aircraft climbs around 300 feet. Crew initiate non-normal checklist/response actions

3 Aircraft is then reported to have abruptly pitched nose-down.

The Airbus has five computers and three hydraulic systems that can control the elevator when the plane is on autopilot. The system is designed for "maximum redundancy" to prevent problems.

During the sudden nosedown pitch, passengers, cabin crew and loose objects were thrown about the aircraft cabin, mostly at the rear of the aircraft.

INJURED

14 people with serious but not life-threatening injuries, which included concussion and broken bones who were taken by air-ambulance to Perth. In addition, up to 30 other people attended hospital with possible concussion, minor lacerations and fractures, with up to a further 30 or so people with minor bruises and stiff necks who did not need to attend hospital.

SOURCE: QANTAS, SMH, ATSB

© 2008 The Age

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