Qantas Flight 72

Infobox Aircraft accident
name = Qantas Flight 72


caption =
date = 2008-10-07
type =
site = 80NM from Learmonth
coords =
aircraft_type = Airbus A330-303
aircraft_name = Kununurra
operator = Qantas
tail_number = VH-QPA
origin = Singapore Changi Airport, Singapore
stopover =
stopover0 =
stopover1 =
stopover2 =
stopover3 =
last_stopover =
destination = Perth Airport, Australia
passengers = 303
crew = 10
injuries = Up to 74
fatalities = 0
survivors = 313 (all)

Qantas Flight 72 (QF72) was a scheduled flight from Singapore Changi Airport to Perth Airport on 7 October 2008 that made an emergency landing at Learmonth aiport near the town of Exmouth, Western Australia at 1:45pm following a "sudden change in altitude". [cite news
first=Haroon
last=Siddique
coauthors=
title=Qantas flight makes emergency landing as dozens of passengers injured
date= 2008-10-07
publisher=The Guardian
url =http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/oct/07/australia.theairlineindustry
work =
pages =
accessdate = 2008-10-07
language = ] The plane was an Airbus A330-300 aircraft. Some passengers were seriously injured, some with fractures, lacerations and spinal injuries. At Exmouth, the plane was met by the Royal Flying Doctor Service and 14 people were airlifted to Perth. Up to 30 other people attended hospital, while up to a further 30 had injuries that did not require attending a hospital.cite press release
title = Qantas Airbus Incident Media Conference
publisher = Australian Transport Safety Bureau
date = 2008-10-08
url = http://www.atsb.gov.au/newsroom/2008/release/2008_40.aspx
accessdate = 2008-10-08 ] [cite news
first=
last=
coauthors=
title=Computer glitch may have caused Qantas jet plunge
date=2008-10-08
publisher=Reuters
url =http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssIndustryMaterialsUtilitiesNews/idUSSYD38366520081008?sp=true
work =
pages =
accessdate = 2008-10-08
language = ] [cite news
title = Australian jet plunge injures 40
publisher = BBC News
date = 2008-10-07
url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7656171.stm
accessdate = 2008-10-08 ] Two planes were sent by Qantas to Learmonth to collect the remaining passengers and crew. [cite news
url=http://avherald.com/h?article=40de5374&opt=1
title=Accident: Qantas A333 near Learmonth on Oct 7th 2008, sudden inflight upset injures 74 people on board
work=Aviation Herald
author=Simon Hradecky
date=2008-10-07] The West Australian police commissioner described the incident as "some sort of systems failure". [cite news
url=http://www.smh.com.au/news/news/dozens-injured-in-qantas-incident/2008/10/07/1223145345200.html
title=Dozens injured in Qantas mid-air incident
last=Thomson
first=Chris
date=2008-10-07
work=The Sydney Morning Herald
accessdate=2008-10-07]

Flight details

The plane was travelling at convert|37000|ft|m when pilots received an electronic message of an irregulaity with the elevator control system. The plane climbed convert|200|ft|m and made two successive nose-dives.cite news | first=Brendan | last=Nicholson | coauthors= | title=Data shows Qantas jet in two sudden plunges | date= | publisher=The Age | url =http://www.theage.com.au/national/data-shows-qantas-jet-in-two-sudden-plunges-20081009-4xo4.html | work = | pages = | accessdate = 2008-10-10 | language = ] The first saw the plane descend about convert|650|ft|m in 20 seconds. After the plane had returned to its cruising level, the second nose-dive took place and saw the plane descend about convert|400|ft|m in 16 seconds. Some passsengers on board were flung around the cabin or crashed on rooftop luggage compartments. The pilots stabilised the plane, declared a mayday call and told authorities they had "experienced flight control computer problems". Forty minutes later, the plane made an emergency landing at Learmonth airport.

Cause

Initially it was believed that the cause of the altitude drops was clear air turbulance. Following the incident, however, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) suggested that a computer problem involving irregularity with the aircraft's elevator control system may have been a possible cause of the incident. [cite news
first=
last=
coauthors=
title=Computer glitch may be behind Qantas incident: ATSB
date=2008-10-08
publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation
url =http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/10/08/2385305.htm
pages =
accessdate = 2008-10-08 ] [cite news
first= | last= | coauthors=
title=Qantas flight suffered computer 'irregularity'
date=2008-10-08
publisher=The Australian
url =http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24465028-2702,00.html
work = | pages =
accessdate = 2008-10-08
language = ] [cite news
first= | last=
coauthors=
title=Qantas plunge jet had computer 'irregularity' say investigators
date=2008-10-08
publisher=Herald Sun
url =http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,24464822-661,00.html
work =
pages =
accessdate = 2008-10-08 ] There was speculation that this irregularity may have been caused by the operation of electronic devices on board, but this was refuted by investigators. [cite news | first= | last= | coauthors= | title=Laptops 'did not cause Qantas drop' | date=2008-10-10 | publisher=Sydney Morning Herald | url =http://news.smh.com.au/national/laptops-did-not-cause-qantas-drop-20081010-4xzr.html | work = | pages = | accessdate = 2008-10-10 | language = ] Further speculation has related to the plane's autopilot system, with claims that it may have somehow caused the malfunctioning of the elevator system. [cite news | first=Paul | last=Bibby | coauthors= | title=Qantas plunge: autopilot probe| date=2008-10-10 | publisher=Sydney Morning Herald | url =http://www.smh.com.au/news/travel/qantas-plunge-autopilot-probe/2008/10/10/1223145616662.html| work = | pages = | accessdate = 2008-10-10 | language = ]

Investigation

The ATSB investigation is supported by the Australian Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA), Qantas, the French Bureau d'Enquêtes et d'Analyses pour la sécurité de l'Aviation Civile (BEA) and Airbus. [cite press release|url=http://www.atsb.gov.au/newsroom/2008/release/2008_40b.aspx|title=Qantas Airbus Accident Media Conference|publisher=Australian Transport Safety Board|date=October 10, 2008] Copies of data from the aircraft's flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder were sent to the BEA and Airbus.

Aircraft

VH-QPA was delivered new to Qantas on 26 November 2003, initially in A330-301 mode. It was converted to A330-303 mode in November 2004. [cite web|url=http://www.planespotters.net/Production_List/Airbus/A330/553.html|title=VH-QPA Qantas Airbus A330-303|work=www.planespotters.net|accessdate=2008-10-09]

Compensation

In the aftermath of the accident, Qantas offered compensation to all passengers. The airline announced it would refund the cost of all travel on their itineraries covering the accident flight, offer a voucher equivalent to a return trip to London applicable to their class of travel and pay for medical expenses arising from the accident. Further compensation claims would be considered on case by case basis. [cite news
last = Bibby
first = Paul
title = Qantas compo depends on class of seat
publisher = The Sydney Morning Herald
date = 2008-10-09
url = http://www.smh.com.au/news/travel/qantas-compo-depends-on-class-of-seat/2008/10/09/1223145508283.html
accessdate = 2008-10-09 ]

External links

* [http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=0p2d6F_5URw Video footage of the cabin as medical crew enter the aircraft after landing]
* [http://www.atsb.gov.au/newsroom/2008/release/2008_40.aspx Australian Transport Safety Bureau Media Release]
* [http://www.atsb.gov.au/publications/investigation_reports/2008/AAIR/aair200806143.aspx Aviation Safety Investigation Report - Active ]

References