Australia's air safety regulator will examine whether interference from military radio signals prompted a second aircraft emergency over the country's northwest.
Australia's air safety regulator will examine whether interference from military radio signals prompted a second aircraft emergency over the country's northwest.u00a0
A Singapore-bound Qantas jet carrying 277 passengers was forced to turn back to the west-coast city of Perth early on December 27, 2008, after the aircraft's auto pilot disconnected.
The plane was about 260 nautical miles north-west of Perth when the malfunction occurred, disrupting the supply of key information to flight control computers. The Air Transport Safety Bureau announced late yesterday that it would combine the investigation into the incident with a probe into a similar emergency in October.
"As it appears to be a similar event to a previous event involving an A330 aircraft on 7/Oct/2008 it will be included as part of the earlier investigation," the bureau said. "The ATSB investigation will explore all aspects of the operation of the aircraft, including examination of recorded data, and any commonalities with past occurrences."
A Qantas Airbus A330 from Singapore to Perth was cruising at 37,000 feet west of the Australian town of Learmonth on October 7 when it abruptly plunged twice. Many of the more than 300 people on board were hurt, including 13 passengers and a flight attendant who were seriously injured as they were thrown about the cabin. The ATSB has provisionally indicated a computer glitch on that occasion caused the auto pilot to shut down, and said it was exploring possible interference from a nearby naval communications station.
