Geez, Phillip
Can you explain to us mere mortals the link between that story, the QF incident and your reference to Portsea 1967?

Mystery is the missing link
 

From the link in my previous post:

One of the issues the ATSB is investigating is whether the VLF transmissions from the HHUNCB could adversely affect the avionics which has behaved erroneously on two occasions within two months within 350 km of the base.

The C-17 story is of interest because of its proximity to the HHUNCB and the fact that VLF transmissions appear not to have been implicated, thus increasing the mystery of the frequency of unusual incidents occuring within 400 km of the HHUNCB.

Sorry if the common thread was too obscure - perhaps you're too young to remember HH's drowning mystery? Popular mythology is that he was taken by a foreign sub - the kind that communicates via VLF.

Hmmm ...

A report on another Board mentioned that the C17A was carrying 70 pax and equipment from Learmonth to Townsville when fumes & leaking fuel were
discovered coming from a vehicle onboard the aircraft. Hence the return to Learmonth.

WA Today had coverage and local radio 882 6PR also reported the incident.

And the RAAF activated Learmonth as an operational base a few days before Christmas and sent several hundred personnel and two P3C Orions there to provide an enhanced surveillance and response capability, as part of Operation Resolute, after several incidents of unauthorised boat arrivals and illegal fishing activities in Australia's territorial waters.

So I think we can rule out interference from North West Cape.

And re the disappearance of Harold Holt. I was a teenager living in Melbourne at the time and familiar with the Portsea Back Beach and Cheviot Beach where Holt disappeared. That area can be nasty at the best of times and I just think that Holt got into difficulties and drowned, his body being swept away. He wasn't the first nor was he the last to disappear in those treacherous seas.

Pretty scary if the VLF transmitter is effecting a/c like this! Wonder what else they are doing at HEH because there are many VLF sites around the world that seem to operate without too much trouble and thounsands of airbus a/c that operate without issue.

Indeed HMAS Harman in Canberra (Belconnen site) was once the site of a VLF transmitter and was directly under one of the outbound paths a/c used to take from CBR-MEL. Ansett A320's regularly flew through this area.

It does seem as if there is some interferance problem with something that is going on up that way.

What do you base that one? Still sounds pretty likely to me. It isn't as if these faults in A330's are regular occourances, yet here are two in the same general location within a short period of time. I was once taught once is bad luck, twice a co-incidence, 3 times enemy action.

Hi Ash

I referred specifically to the incident involving the C17 which returned to Learmonth after fumes and leaking petrol came from a vehicle onboard.

I didn't make any mention whatsover of the incidents involving the A330s which appear totally unrelated to that with the C17.

Oh yeah, cannot see how anyone could have ever linked the two. Now if the C17 was the same type of incident then maybe.

ATSB report just released
 

The ATSB has released an updated report this morning:
http://www.atsb.gov.au/publications/...70_interim.pdf

Damn that's a lot to take in... and continues to raise new questions as well as a very sobering reminder about not just keeping your seatbelt fastened but not being overly liberal with the meaning of "fastened loosely" as some pax seem to do, ie. loosening it as much as they can.