Investigators Believe Oxygen Tank Caused Hole In Jet
Authorities from Australian have requested that the country’s national airline check all of the oxygen bottles in the fleet of Boeing 747’s jets. Investigators believe that one of the 747 jets - which ripped a hole mid-flight - was caused by an exploding cylinder.
The Civil Aviation Safety Authority asked the airline to check oxygen containers and the brackets that hold them in each of the 30 Boeing 747 that’s part of Qantas’ fleet, the state news agency said. The agency thinks an exploding oxygen cylinder caused the rupture on the flight Friday because there were no signs of fire and the bottle had been in the spot that exploded, the Australian Associated Press said.
The flight was on its way from London to Melbourne with 346 passengers on board when the explosion occurred. The plane lost cabin pressure and altitude. The crew brought the plane down from 29,000 feet (8,840 meters) to 10,000 feet (3,048 meters) and diverted the aircraft to Manila International Airport in the Philippines, where it landed safely.