Chris Thomson
October 7, 2008 - 6:40PM
About 30 passengers and crew have been injured in a "sudden in-flight upset" that forced a Qantas passenger with 303 people on board to make an emergency landing 1200 kilometres north of Perth this afternoon.
About 15 of the passengers and cabin crew suffered serious injuries, including broken bones and lacerations, following what Qantas decribed as a "sudden change in altitude".
- Qantas jet in mid-air emergency
- Sudden, severe loss of altitude
- 15 passengers seriously injured
A passenger on the flight who used to work for the Civil Aviation Safety Authority told reporters that whatever caused the sudden loss of altitude was so severe enough to drive people head first into the cabin ceiling, causing major injuries.
Most of the injured were at the rear of the A330 aircraft. They included three crew members.
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WA Police Sergeant Greg Lambert said 10 people had been taken to Exmouth Regional Hospital with "quite serious'' injuries.
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) said the aircraft had experienced a "sudden in-flight upset'' while cruising in "level flight''.
"The crew declared a mayday and diverted the aircraft to Learmonth, near Exmouth in WA, where it landed without further incident,'' the ATSB said
The flight, QF72, was en route from Singapore to Perth where it was due to land at 2.10pm (WST).The mayday alert was issued about 1.30pm and the jet landed at Learmonth at 1.35pm.
WA Police Commissioner Karl O'Callaghan said he understood the incident was caused by "some sort of systems failure".
He said his force's State Crisis Centre in Perth had been activated.
WA Police Sergeant Greg Lambert said 10 passengers had been taken to Exmouth Regional Hospital with injuries described as ``quite serious''.
Qantas regional manager (WA) Ian Gay said two smaller Qantas planes had been sent to Exmouth to pick up stranded passengers from the flight.
Two ATSB investigators were preparing to arrive at Learmonth, near Exmouth, about 9pm on a chartered aircraft.
Five other investigators will also travel to the airport to investigate the incident.
Sergeant Lambert said emergency services staff were at the airport. Exmouth hospital staff were assessing the condition of the injured passengers.
More to come