Serious Injuries on a Qantas A330 Flight on 7 October 2008

A Qantas Airbus A330-300, with 303 passengers and 10 crew members on board, was on a scheduled international flight from Singapore to Perth. While in cruise, the aircraft reportedly experienced some type of sudden and unexpected altitude change. The crew issued a mayday call before diverting the aircraft to the airport at Learmonth, near the town of Exmouth, about 1100 kilometers or 680 miles north of its intended destination of Perth.

About 36 passengers and crew members were injured, with over a dozen severe injuries. Reportedly, several occupants were slammed into the ceiling during the event. Most of the injuries were to passengers and crew in the rear of the aircraft, and at least one person was carried off the plane in a stretcher. About 13 of the most seriously injured were flown to Perth by four aircraft from the Royal Flying Doctor Service. One flight attendant was hospitalized with suspected head and spinal injuries. Other serious injuries included fractures, lacerations, and a concussion.

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau has a team of seven investigators currently working on this incident, and it will likely be several days before a preliminary cause is announced, and several months before a final report is issued.

This is the first significant passenger safety event for the A330. Qantas currently has 15 A330 aircraft in its fleet, including 10 of the A330-300 model.

This is the second significant safety event for Qantas this year. On July 25, an exploding oxygen bottle blew a hole in the fuselage of a Qantas 747 en route from Hong Kong to Melbourne, causing a rapid decompression and forcing an emergency landing in Manila. No passengers were injured in that event.

Other significant safety events for Qantas in the last decade include a 2000 event in Rome involving the collapse of a 747 landing gear, and in 1999 a landing overrun in Bangkok severely damaged another Qantas 747.

In August 2008, the Civil Aviation Safety Authority of Australia conducted a review of Qantas safety and found no system-wide safety issues, but did recommend an audit of the airline's maintenance practices, including a full maintenance audit of one aircraft from three of the models flown by Qantas, the 737-400, 747-400, and 767-300. No maintenance audit was ordered for the airline's A330 fleet.

Additional information about this event, including updates or findings from the investigation or from the Qantas maintenance audit, will be available at qantas.airsafe.org.

Discovery of the Steve Fossett Crash Site

On September 3rd, 2007, adventurer Steve Fossett took off from Yerington, Nevada on a short flight in a Bellanca Super Decathlon, and went missing. After more than a year, a hiker found some of his personal effects high in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California on September 29, 2008. Two days later, authorities spotted wreckage from his aircraft. Possible human remains were also found at the site.

The aircraft crashed into a steep granite slope at an elevation of about 10,000 feet, seven miles west of the town of Mammoth Lakes, California. The crash site is about 93 miles or 150 kilometers south of Yerington, Nevada. Pieces of the plane were scattered over a steeply sloped area, with the engine about 300 feet from the fuselage wreckage. There was also evidence of a post crash fire. Fossett was the only occupant.

About Steve Fossett
According to an earlier NTSB report, Fossett's most recent medical certificate was completed seven months before his final flight. At that time, he had over 6,700 hours of flight experience, with 350 hours in the previous six months. He was certified as an airline transport pilot, and was also certified to fly a balloon, helicopter, seaplane, and glider.

He had set over 100 records in five different sports, including over 90 in aviation. Among those aviation records was the first solo nonstop flight around the world in an aircraft, as well as the first solo round the world balloon flight. Outside of aviation, he had also sailed around the world and swam across the English Channel.

About the Bellanca Decathlon
The accident aircraft was a Bellanca Decathlon, a two-seat, single engine aerobatic aircraft. That model was produced between 1970 and 1981, and the accident aircraft was manufactured in 1980. According to the NTSB, between 1973 and 2008 there have been 105 Decathlon accidents, with 80 resulting in fatalities.

Accident Investigation
The NTSB has sent a team to investigate the crash, and is headed by the NTSB chairman Mark Rosenker. The investigation, including a determination of the probable cause of the accident, will likely take several months to complete.

Additional information about this event, including updates or findings from the NTSB investigation, will be available at http://fossett.airsafe.org.