Qantas Flight 30

Infobox Aircraft accident
name=Qantas Flight 30


caption = Structural damage sustained on the 747
date=25 July 2008
type=In-flight structural damage [cite news
coauthors = Staff writers
title = Emergency jumbo pilot is our hero
work = Herald Sun
date = 2008-07-26
url = http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21598,24080670-948,00.html
accessdate = 2008-07-26] [cite news
last = Lucas
first = Clay
coauthors = Cooper, Mex; Smith, Bridie; with Burgess, Matthew and Agencies
title = 'It was absolutely terrifying'
work = The Age
date = 2008-07-26
url = http://www.theage.com.au/national/it-was-absolutely-terrifying-20080725-3l2y.html?page=-1
accessdate = 2008-07-26] Rapid decompressioncite press release
title = Qantas Boeing 747-400 depressurisation and diversion to Manila on 25 July 2008
publisher = Australian Transport Safety Bureau
date = 2008-07-28
url = http://www.atsb.gov.au/newsroom/2008/release/2008_24.aspx
accessdate = 2008-07-28]
site=South China Sea west of Luzon
coords =
fatalities=0
injuries=0
aircraft_type=Boeing 747-438
aircraft_name = City of Newcastle [cite web
last = Jackson
first = Anthony
title = VH-OJK (CN:25067) Qantas Boeing 747-438
work = Jetphotos.net
date = 2008-03-06
url = http://www.jetphotos.net/viewphoto.php?id=6200537&nseq=6
accessdate = 2008-07-26]
operator=Qantas
tail_number=Airreg|VH|OJK
origin = London Heathrow Airport
stopover = Hong Kong International Airport
destination = Melbourne Airport
passengers=346
crew=19
survivors = 365 (all)

Qantas Flight 30 (QF30, QFA30) was a Qantas Boeing 747-438, construction number 25067, registered in Australia as VH-OJK. [cite news
last = Maynard
first=Neale
coauthors = McPhedran, Ian
title = Near disaster as Qantas jet plummets 20,000 feet
work =The Courier-Mail
pages =
language =
publisher =
date = 2008-07-26
url = http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,24078788-953,00.html
accessdate = 2008-07-26] QF30 was a scheduled flight from London Heathrow Airport to Melbourne Airport with a stopover in Hong Kong International Airport on July 25, 2008. The flight was interrupted because of a rapid decompression caused by a fuselage rupture just forward of the starboard wing root. There were no injuries and the plane made an emergency descent to a breathable altitude of about 10,000 feet and eventually made an emergency landing at Ninoy Aquino International Airport, Metro Manila, Philippines.

In-flight accident

The flight left Hong Kong on July 25, 2008 shortly after 9:00 am HKT (0100 UTC).cite web
title=Hole forces Qantas plane to land
work=BBC News
url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/7524733.stm
date=2008-07-25
accessdate=2008-07-25] At 02:17 UTC, passengers and crew heard a loud bang; the cabin de-pressurized and a hole in the floor of the passenger deck appeared, as well as a hole in the outside wall of the cargo deck.cite web
title = Depressurisation, 475 km north-west of Manila, Philippines, Boeing Company 747-438, VH-OJK
work = Aviation Occurrence Investigation AO-2008-053 Preliminary
publisher = Australian Transport Safety Bureau
date = August 2008
url = http://www.atsb.gov.au/publications/investigation_reports/2008/AAIR/pdf/AO2008053_Prelim.pdf
format = PDF
accessdate = 2008-08-29 ] During the emergency, parts of the aircraft's floor and ceiling collapsed.cite news
title = Qantas flight makes emergency landing in Manila
publisher = AAP via news.com.au
date = 2008-07-25
url = http://www.news.com.au/travel/story/0,26058,24076175-5014090,00.html
accessdate = 2008-07-26] Passengers reported that, despite the noise and the deployment of the oxygen masks, there was very little panic. [cite web|author=Staff Writer
publisher=BBC News
date=2008-07-25
accessdate=2008-07-25
title=Irishman on faulty fuselage jet
url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/7526320.stm] The pilots conducted an emergency descent from 29,000 feet to ensure adequate oxygen supply for the passengers, reaching 10,000 feet by 02:24 UTC. [cite news
title = Qantas plane dives 20,000 feet after hole ripped mid-air in fuselage
publisher = Associated Press via Fox News
date = 2008-07-25
url = http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,391024,00.html
accessdate = 2008-07-26]

After the accident, numerous passengers said that some oxygen masks did not deploy, whilst others had deteriorated elastic. Consequently, it was reported that one passenger smashed a panel of the ceiling to attempt to gain access to the masks. It was stated that these passengers were deprived of oxygen until the plane was lowered to a breathable altitude. [cite news
title = Oxygen cylinder missing from Qantas 747 jumbo
work = AAP with AFP via news.com.au
date = 2008-07-27
url = http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,24084555-421,00.html
accessdate = 2008-07-28] . The Australian Transport Safety Bureau will interview passengers who reported problems with the oxygen masks as part of their investigation.

The hole in the fuselage — roughly in an inverted T-shape — was up to 2.01 m wide and approximately 1.52 m high, located on the right side of the fuselage, below cabin floor level and immediately forward of the wing. The wing-fuselage fairing was missing, revealing some palletised cargo in the hold, however the freight forwarder reported that all items on the manifest were accounted for. Other than some items which were located near the cylinder and resulting hole, no other cargo or baggage on the flight was damaged.

The airline, in a news release, said there were no reports of injuries. [cite press release
title = Qantas flight diverts to Manila
publisher = Qantas
date = 2008-07-25
url = http://www.qantas.com.au/regions/dyn/au/publicaffairs/details?ArticleID=2008/jul08/Q3792
accessdate = 2008-07-26] Several passengers reportedly displayed signs of nausea upon exiting the aircraft. [cite news
last = Alexander
first = Paul
title = Qantas jet lands with gaping hole in fuselage
work = Associated Press via WTOPnews.com
date = 2008-07-25
url = http://www.wtop.com/?nid=105&sid=1446631
accessdate = 2008-07-26]

afety record

Qantas has never lost a jet plane to an accident. [cite news
work=Philippine Daily Inquirer
url=http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/world/view/20080725-150732/Qantas-safety-record
title=Qantas safety record
date=2008-07-25
accessdate = 2008-07-27] Although its safety record is impressive,cite news
last = Maynard
first = Micheline
coauthors = Johnston, Tim
title = Hole in Fuselage Forces Jet to Land
work = The New York Times
date = 2008-07-26
url = http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/26/world/asia/26qantas.html
accessdate = 2008-07-26] having not had a fatal crash since the pre-jet 1950s, [cite news
url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/jul/25/australia.theairlineindustry
title=The airline industry
publisher=The Guardian
date=2008-07-25
accessdate = 2008-07-27] a recent bout of maintenance outsourcing was dogged by reports of sub-standard work. [cite news
url=http://www.theage.com.au/national/workers-undermined-by-qantas-outsourcing-20080626-2xi1.html
title=Workers undermined by Qantas outsourcing
work=The Age
accessdate = 2008-07-27] A leaked 2006 Qantas audit concluded that maintenance work performed on one of its jets by the SIA Engineering Company had "numerous quality deficiencies". [cite news
url=http://www.theage.com.au/national/foreign-servicing-of-jets-kept-secret-20080720-3i9a.html
title=Foreign servicing of jets kept secret
work=The Age
author=Richard Baker
date=2008-07-21
accessdate = 2008-07-27]

Other safety concerns

Oxygen masks that were deployed after the blast failed to function properly. Some passengers were forced to share a mask when the Qantas Boeing 747 ran into trouble, while others panicked when they failed to open.cite news
url=http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_asiapacific/view/363063/1/.html
title=Oxygen masks faulted on stricken Australian jet
date=2008-07-27
work=Channel NewsAsia
accessdate=2008-07-29] The FAA had recently issued airworthiness directives regarding problems with the masks on this and several other Boeing commercial aircraft models. [ [http://www.airweb.faa.gov/Regulatory_and_Guidance_Library/rgAD.nsf/WebSearchDefault?SearchView&Query=Boeing%20AND%20passenger%20AND%20masks%20AND%202008 Airworthiness directives] ]

Investigation

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau is leading the investigation, sending 4 investigators to Manila to conduct a detailed inspection of the aircraft [cite press release
title = Boeing 747 diversion to Manila
publisher = Australian Transport Safety Bureau
date = 2008-07-25
url = http://www.atsb.gov.au/newsroom/2008/release/2008_22.aspx
accessdate = 2008-07-26] , with Qantas [cite news
url=http://www.mb.com.ph/issues/2008/07/26/MAIN20080726130781.html
title=Qantas with 365 passengers, crew lands safely at NAIA
author=Anjo Perez, Louie Perez
work= Manila Bulletin
date=2008-07-26
accessdate = 2008-07-27] , the USA's National Transportation Safety Board, Federal Aviation Administration, Boeingcite news
url=http://www.ntsb.gov/Pressrel/2008/080725.html
title=NTSB sends team to Philippines to join Qantas 747 investigation
publisher=National Transportation Safety Board
location=Washington, DC
date=2008-07-25
accessdate = 2008-07-27] , the Australian Civil Aviation Safety Authority and the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines also involved.

The ATSB initially referred to the occurrence as a "Serious Incident", while the NTSB initially called it an accident. In later media releases, the ATSB also used the term "accident" to describe the event.cite web
url=http://www.atsb.gov.au/publications/investigation_reports/2008/AAIR/aair200804689.aspx
title=Aviation Safety Investigation Report (Active):AO-2008-053: Boeing 747-438, VH-OJK, Near Manila Philippines
publisher=Australian Transport Safety Bureau
date=2008-07-26
accessdate=2008-07-27] cite press release
url = http://www.atsb.gov.au/newsroom/2008/release/2008_28.aspx
title = Investigation into Boeing 747-400 depressurisation and diversion to Manila, Philippines
publisher = Australian Transport Safety Bureau
date = 2008-07-30
accessdate = 2008-07-30] cite press release
url = http://www.atsb.gov.au/newsroom/2008/alert/2008_27.aspx
title = Media Alert: Qantas Boeing 747-400 accident and diversion to Manila on 25 July 2008
publisher = Australian Transport Safety Bureau
date = 2008-07-30
accessdate = 2008-07-30]

Soon after the incident, the ATSB announced that air safety investigators found that an oxygen cylinder which was located in the area of the explosion hasn't been accounted for, but that it was too early to say that an oxygen cylinder could be the cause of the mid-air explosion on QF30. Regardless, the Civil Aviation Safety Authority ordered Qantas to inspect all of its oxygen cylinders and brackets which hold the cylinders on its Boeing 747 fleet. [cite news
url=http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5hMIUmumwXi9Wyk7t_jvUa5hSh94A
work=Agence France Press
title=Qantas jet probe focuses on exploding oxygen cylinder
date=2008-07-27
accessdate = 2008-07-27] [cite news
url=http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSSP22954820080727
work=Reuters
title=Qantas to inspect oxygen bottles after 747 emergency
date=2008-07-27
accessdate = 2008-07-27] The valve and mounting brackets were found, but not the bottle, number four of thirteen fitted in that bank. [cite news
last = Creedy
first = Steve
title = Jet's oxygen bottle parts found
work = The Australian
date = 2008-07-29
url = http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24093503-2702,00.html
accessdate = 2008-07-29] A senior investigator, Neville Blyth, reported that the cylinder valve was found inside the cabin, having punched a hole "at least twenty centimetres in diameter" through the cabin floor. [cite news
url=http://www.theage.com.au/national/valve-in-oxygen-cylinder-the-culprit-in-747-explosion-20080728-3maq.html?page=-1
title=Valve in oxygen cylinder the culprit in 747 explosion
author=Craig Skehan
date=2008-07-29
work=The Age
accessdate = 2008-07-29]

Blyth said that the flight recorders were to be analyzed in the Canberra, Australia laboratories of the ATSB.cite news
url=http://www.channelnewsasia.com/cna/cgi-bin/search/search_7days.pl?status=&search=Qantas&id=363293
title=Investigators find metal fragments in stricken Qantas plane
date=2008-07-28
publisher=Agence France Press (via Channel News Asia)] . However, because the plane had remained airborne and operational throughout the incident, the cockpit voice recorder does not contain records of the initial event itself; its two hour memory had been overwritten with recordings taking place after this event, during the diversion and landing. The twenty-four hour flight data recorder does contain data covering the entire incident.cite web
title='Tank exploded' on Qantas jet
work=BBC News
url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7532357.stm
date=2008-07-30
accessdate=2008-07-30] [cite news
url=http://www.canberratimes.com.au/news/national/national/general/qantas-inflight-recorder-taped-over/1229881.aspx
author=Craig Skehan, Paul Bibby
date=2008-07-30
title=Qantas inflight recorder taped over
publisher=Canberra Times] [cite news
author=Craig Skehan
url=http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2008/07/30/1217097287078.html
title=Pilots' reaction to explosion missing from tape
publisher=The Age
date=2008-07-30]

On 30 July, the ATSB gave an update confirming further aspects of the initial investigation. They stated that these initial investigations had found that the aircraft took about five and half minutes to descend from the decompression event at 29,000 feet to the altitude of 10,000 feet and that it appeared that part of an oxygen cylinder and its valve had entered the passenger cabin, then impacted with the number 2 right door handle, turning it part way. The ATSB noted that there was no risk of the door being opened by this movement, with the door systems performing as designed. All three of the aircraft's instrument landing systems as well as the anti-skid braking system were unavailable for the landing; however, all evidence that had been assessed had indicated that the engines and hydraulics were operating normally. Most of the oxygen masks deployed in the incident, with 418 out of the 484 deployed being activated by the 346 passengers, pulling them down to activate the flow of oxygen.

The ATSB further indicated that the aircraft had some of its instrumentation fail, leading the pilots to choose a visual flight rules (VFR) landing. [cite news
author=Rod McGuirk
title=Official: Jet lost flight instruments after blast
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jfANUd-8pzpv45XzGCZ9Rutt9lcgD9282VL00
publisher=Associated Press
date=2008-07-30]

Preliminary findings

The cause of the accident has been determined to be an exploding oxygen tank in the cargo area, according to a preliminary finding of the Australian Transport Safety Bureau:cite web
title = AO-2008-053: Depressurisation, 475 km north-west of Manila, Philippines, 25 July 2008, Boeing Company 747-438, VH-OJK
work = Australian Transport Safety Bureau
date = 2008-08-29
url = http://www.atsb.gov.au/publications/investigation_reports/2008/AAIR/aair200804689.aspx
isbn = 978-1-921490-65-1
accessdate = 2008-08-29]

"After clearing the baggage and cargo from the forward aircraft hold, it was evident that one passenger oxygen cylinder (number-4 from a bank of seven cylinders along the right side of the cargo hold) had sustained a sudden failure and forceful discharge of its pressurised contents into the aircraft hold, rupturing the fuselage in the vicinity of the wing-fuselage leading edge fairing. The cylinder had been propelled upward by the force of the discharge, puncturing the cabin floor and entering the cabin adjacent to the second main cabin door. The cylinder had subsequently impacted the door frame, door handle and overhead panelling, before falling to the cabin floor and exiting the aircraft through the ruptured fuselage."

The ATSB has also issued two "Safety Advisory Notices", advising responsible organizations to review procedures, equipment, techniques and personnel qualifications for maintenance, inspection and handling of aviation oxygen cylinders. [ [http://www.atsb.gov.au/publications/recommendations/2008/AO-2008-053-SAN-006.aspx AO-2008-053-SAN-006] ATSB, 29 August 2008] [ [http://www.atsb.gov.au/publications/recommendations/2008/AO-2008-053-SAN-007.aspx AO-2008-053-SAN-007] ATSB, 29 August 2008]

References

External links

*cite news
author=James Wray
date=2008-07-25
url=http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/asiapacific/features/article_1419475.php
publisher=MonsterAndCritics.com
title=In photos Philippines Qantas plane emergency landing
accessdate=2008-07-25