CV Thian 0 Report post Posted August 1, 2008 taken from theage.com.au New pictures show devastating damage to Qantas plane New pictures have emerged showing the extent of the damage to the interior of the Qantas plane that was forced to make an emergency landing in Manila last week. Flight QF30 was forced to divert soon after taking off from Hong Kong after an explosion ripped a hole into the belly of the fuselage. The damage is believed to have been caused by an exploding oxygen bottle. Fairfax Media has obtained new pictures showing damage to the interior of the door onboard the Melbourne-bound Boeing 747-400. The release of the photos, submitted to Fairfax Media by a source who asked not to be named, comes as the checks on oxygen bottles onboard Qantas' fleet of 747s are being completed. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau has confirmed that part of an oxygen cylinder and valve entered the passenger cabin and damaged the door-frame handle, moving the handle towards the open position. The bureau maintains that the door handle mechanism was sheared - as it is designed to do if an attempt to open the door is made while a plane is airborne - and that the door latches were still engaged. While ATSB says there was never any danger of the door opening, the proximity of the damaged door to the seat of flight crew was of concern. A Qantas spokesman said early this week, maintenance workers began inspecting the pressurised bottles carried by more than 30 aircraft. "It has been in process for a few days ... we do the checks as the aircraft arrive back in Australia," he said today. "We will complete checks of the cabin emergency oxygen bottles across our Boeing 747 fleet tonight." An explosion blew a hole in the 747-400 as it was flying from Hong Kong to Melbourne last Friday. The stricken plane, with 365 people on board, made an emergency landing in Manila, where it is now the subject of an investigation by the ATSB and other authorities. It is believed that a faulty oxygen bottle is the most likely source of the explosion, which caused a loss of pressure in the cabin, causing the plane to plunge 20,000 feet. An ATSB spokesman today said the investigation was continuing. with AAP Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Yusoff 1 Report post Posted August 1, 2008 With damages like that, I would have been in a total freaked out if i were there to see it during it happened... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
A.Ariff 0 Report post Posted August 3, 2008 (edited) I heard a man smashed the overhead thing JUST to get the oxygen mask.. is it? and some say that some of the oxygen mask wasn't working normally.. Edited August 3, 2008 by A.Ariff Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MIR 2 Report post Posted August 4, 2008 New photos of the damage inside/outside of the cabin. CLICK HERE Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Yusoff 1 Report post Posted August 4, 2008 Ooh, can see the reincorfed honeycomb structure inside the wall of the fuselage... and EXACTLY look like bee's honeycomb with the interconnected hexagonal shapes and brown colour... that's why they called honeycomb, duh Thanks for the link, MIR! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
yeadrian 0 Report post Posted August 7, 2008 oh my, the damage on the fuselage looks extensive, scary actually! very good pictures you found Mir... New photos of the damage inside/outside of the cabin. CLICK HERE Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KK Lee 5 Report post Posted August 29, 2008 Oxygen bottle behind Qantas blast Australian investigators have confirmed that an exploding oxygen cylinder caused the blast which blew a large hole in a Qantas plane last month. But they admit they are no closer to explaining why the cylinder blew up. The incident happened on a Boeing 747 that was flying from Hong Kong to Melbourne on 25 July. The explosion caused a sudden loss of cabin pressure, forcing an emergency descent to a point where oxygen masks were no longer needed. The pilot diverted the plane to the Philippines, and it landed safely in Manila despite having a 5 foot (1.5m) hole in its fuselage. None of the 365 passengers and crew were injured. Key question The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) released an interim report on Friday, as part of an ongoing investigation into the incident. The report confirmed early findings that one of seven emergency oxygen cylinders had exploded, blowing a hole in the fuselage and sending the bottle up through the passenger cabin floor. Julian Walsh, acting executive director of the bureau, said the challenge now was to pinpoint the cause of the explosion. "There's nothing at this stage that the ATSB can identify what could have been done to prevent this because we don't really know why the bottle failed - and that's the key question for the investigation," Mr Walsh told reporters. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7587383.stm Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
