Computer 'irregularity' on dropped plane
AIR safety investigators say there was an "irregularity" in the onboard computer equipment of a Qantas plane involved in a mid-air incident between Singapore and Perth.
The Airbus A330-300, with 303 passengers and a crew of 10, struck what the airline described as a "sudden change in altitude'' north of its destination yesterday.
The plane landed at Learmonth, about 40km from Exmouth, without any further incidents.
West Australian police said at least 20 passengers and crew aboard QF72 were seriously injured - some with spinal injuries and others with broken bones and lacerations.
Two Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) investigators are on the ground at Learmonth and five more are expected to arrive there later today.
The bureau's director of aviation safety investigation, Julian Walshe, says the plane was travelling at 37,000 feet and 110 miles north of Carnarvon when the incident occurred.
"The pilots received electronic centralised aircraft monitoring messages in the cockpit relating to some irregularity with the aircraft's elevator control system,'' he said in Canberra.
The aircraft then "departed level flight'', and climbed approximately 300 feet.
"The crew had initiated the non-normal checklist response actions.
"The aircraft is then reported to have abruptly pitched nose down.''
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