Passengers hurt as Qantas jetdrops altitude

THIRTY-SIX passengers and crew were injured, some seriously, in the mid-air drama that forced a Qantas jetliner to make an emergency landing, the Australian carrier and police said yesterday.

Australian Broadcasting Corporation radio said 10 people sustained broken bones and severe cuts.

The terrifying incident saw the Airbus A330-300, carrying more than 300 passengers, issue a mayday call when it suddenly changed altitude during a flight from Singapore to Perth, Qantas said.

It was the latest in a series of incidents that have tarnished the safety record of Qantas, which has long boasted a reputation of being one of the world’s safest airlines.

“A number of passengers and crew sustained injuries, including fractures and lacerations, on board QF72 en route from Singapore to Perth following a sudden change in altitude,” the airline said.

A fleet of emergency vehicles was on standby at the Learmonth air base, about 1,100 kilometres northwest of Perth, when the plane landed, said.

“Some 36 people were injured in the incident, about 12 of them seriously,” said Sergeant Greg Lambert of the West Australian Police.

Australian Transport Safety Bureau said 15 people sustained serious injuries, including broken bones and cuts.

“While cruising in level flight, the aircraft experienced a sudden in-flight upset, resulting in injuries to a number of cabin crew and passengers, primarily in the rear of the aircraft,” the ATSB said.

Neither the ATSB nor Qantas could not immediately confirm whether it was turbulence or another factor that had caused the aircraft, which was carrying 303 passengers and 10 crew, to drop or rise suddenly during flight.

The incident was the fourth in three months to dent Qantas’ once-enviable safety reputation. The most recent on July 25, saw an exploding oxygen bottle punch a hole in the side of a Boeing 747-400.