Parts Of Oxygen Tank Found In Qantas Jet

Evidence Lends Credence To Theory That Tank Blew Up, Causing Hole In Australia-Bound 747

(AP)  Investigators found fragments that appear to bolster the theory that an oxygen tank exploded on a Qantas jet, forcing it to make a dramatic emergency landing with a car-sized hole in its fuselage, an official said Monday.

Neville Blyth, a senior investigator from the Australian Transport Safety Bureau, said a valve and other small fragments would be tested to determine if they came from the tank, which is designed to provide oxygen to passengers during an emergency.

He said the fragments were found in the passenger cabin close to where the missing tank was stored in the cargo hold, along with five other cylinders.

The Boeing 747-400 had to make an emergency landing after a quick descent from 29,000 feet riday. The 365 passengers and crew, who reported hearing a loud bang before the plane suddenly depressurized, were not injured.

"We recovered ... a valve from an oxygen cylinder," Blyth told a news conference. "It is likely that that valve is from the missing cylinder."

If the valve and other fragments are determined to have come from the cylinder, further investigation will be required to determine why the tank burst, he said.

The aircraft flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder arrived Monday in Australia, where officials said it will take several days to download their information.

Blyth and other officials said they are unaware of any previous cases in which an oxygen tank caused an airline accident. Qantas has ordered all oxygen tanks on its fleet of 747-400s to be urgently inspected.

Some passengers told Australian media that their oxygen masks failed to work properly during the crisis, leading some to nearly pass out.

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration earlier warned airlines to inspect oxygen cylinders on their planes.

David Cox, Qantas' head of engineering, told reporters Monday that the FAA directive applies to a different type of oxygen system than the one being scrutinized in the Qantas emergency.

Three of Qantas' aircraft were affected by the directive and all were inspected by January 2007, Cox said.

The airline's chief executive, Geoff Dixon, said whatever caused the "very, very bad accident" was likely beyond the airline's control.

"We don't know and we can't speculate on what happened to this aircraft," Dixon told a news conference. "Obviously there is every chance it is something to do with the aircraft, and it is something that may have well been out of our control. More than likely it was."

The FAA's directive followed a report that certain oxygen cylinders' support brackets in Boeing 747-400s may not have been properly heat-treated, which the FAA said could cause oxygen leakage and subsequent fire hazards.

The plane, en route from London to Melbourne, Australia, made a stopover in Hong Kong an hour before making the emergency landing in the Philippines.

Four Australian Transport Safety Bureau specialists were inspecting the aircraft in Manila, with assistance from Boeing and the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board.

Officials have said there is no indication a bomb may have caused the incident.

[andor3]

toldyouso12 nice posts! good to read something intelligent and thought-provoking here... all too rare.

[toldyouso12]

Hey buttjockey that is a dangerous attitude to have. They are here and they are planning future attacks. The only thing that keeps it from happening is the hard work of law enforcement and the alertness of the American people.

Posted by redbds at 10:56 AM : Jul 28, 2008


How hard would it be, to leave a cell phone bomb in a Walmart or other store or drop off a bomb in a gas station trash can? Neither of those venues are searched for bombs. Someone could easily drop such a device in cans or restrooms of a restaurant or in leave it on a shelf in a store and no one would be the wiser. They could then detonate from a distance. And who do you think is stopping them? Stores can''t even stop people from stealing from their stores--and no bags are checked. Buttonjockey is right, if they wanted to get us--Homeland security would be responding after the fact. "Too easy, Drill Sargeant"

[toldyouso12]

Posted by buttonjockey at 09:18 AM : Jul 28, 2008


Well said. At present terrorist need do nothing to us since Plan "A" is still succeeding swimmingly. The goal of terrorism in any country is to undermine the original government causing it to morally implode, to instill fear into a society so that they will make costly blunders and slowly bleed them to death as they respond to crisis after crisis but can only eliminate/ferret out a few of the evil doers.

After 911, our knee jerk reactions to terrorism including invading Iraq have made us look like terrified old women or hysterical children. We have exhausted our treasure bombing and occupying Iraq and ruined our reputation by torturing and holding thousands as prisoners only to let many of them go. WE even scrapped our name from the Geneva Convention after decades of being both the author and champion of those war rights. FAce it, there is no need for a terrorist attack in America right now, because the one in 2001 and still producing stellar results for all who want to see our way of life destroyed.

Think about our way of life, as you have 4/gal gas, your phones are tapped, there are no flight lists and other black lists, our government tortures and outs our own agents, and your job may be on its way overseas--and if you try for one of the menial ones here--it is already taken by illegals. Nope. no need for terrorist acts here --at this time.

[toldyouso12]

"Qantas has ordered all oxygen tanks on its fleet of 747-400s to be urgently inspected.

Some passengers told Australian media that their oxygen masks failed to work properly during the crisis, leading some to nearly pass out. "

Maybe the tank exploded due to Qantas like other airlines failing to check them for leaks or tank integrity. Maybe the others did not explode due to being EMPTY. There may not have been a lot of cases of tanks exploding mid air--but there have been recent cases of airlines flying without or with lower than needed auxiliary oxygen due to poor maintenance and trying to cut costs.

I bet a surprise check of all airline''s and their planes will find many with less oxygen on hand in case of emergency as they try to cut costs and reason, that they "never need to use those anyway and if they ARE needed, chances are the plane is going to crash and the people will die anyway so why provide oxygen? (after all, no one will look to see if the O2 tanks are full after a plane crash as they usually burn up too) Follow the money, for this and that other case with no O2 in a tank--all roads will lead back to a deliberate effort to fly with minimal O2 and never let the passengers know--I''ll bet.

[pensacola88]

The oxygen supply is a cryogenic type that freezes air and separates oxygen from nitrogen by simply allowing one to evaporate away because if their different boiling points.

Oxygen will tend to become solid or "slushy" which requires a "stir". The equipment stirs the oxygen gently.

There was one popular occurence of a cryogenic oxygen stir that went out of control over a contact switch that passed excessive voltage/current and welded a contact closed and lead to an explosion. It happened on the famous Apollo 13 service module.

[redbds]

To embargo information to keep ourselves safe is futile. Terrorists already know what they need to. I hate every one of them but it does not cloud my realization that if they wanted to be here causing trouble, they would be already.

Posted by buttonjockey at 09:18 AM : Jul 28, 2008

Hey buttjockey that is a dangerous attitude to have. They are here and they are planning future attacks. The only thing that keeps it from happening is the hard work of law enforcement and the alertness of the American people.

[gunfighter51]

Oxygen Tank? I wonder if it was McCain''s?

Leave it to an idiot liberal to make such a stupid comment.

[redbds]

Great. Let''''s give the terrorists all the information they need to start looking at innocuous oxygen tanks as possible bomb material to take down planes. Make sure the upcoming articles talk about the location of the tank on the plane, how all planes have them and maybe even show diagrams too.

Posted by MyOpinion1 at 07:43 AM : Jul 28, 2008

Are you really that stupid? All the information that you are talking about is already available to the public.

[xmanborg]

McCains Oxygen tank exploded when it came in contact with the battery on his power chair.

[buttonjockey]

Still buying into the terrorist scare? Listen, they are smarter than both of us when it comes to strategizing violent acts. If it''s viable, they''ve probably thought of it long before we have. Part of their training, you know.

But if they wanted to wreak havoc in the U.S. they''d already be here doing it. They''d be crossing the national security disaster that we call our borders (the same way millions of illegal aliens do), they''d be smuggling in materials (same way drugs flood into our country) and they''d be using the terrorists weapon of choice worldwide, suicide/car bombs. They''ve already thought of all this too! Nothing is new, but it''s still not happening here. Why?

When you learn what terrorism is and why and how terrorists do it, you''ll see that it doesn''t take airliners or anthrax to do it. 9/11 was a heck of a show but in the long run, if terrorism comes to our shores with long term intent to disrupt, it will be performed the same as everywhere else in the world, by simple bombings. It''s cheap, easy, hard to prevent and it instills fear. Whether in Ireland or Iraq, the weapon of choice is the home made bomb.

To embargo information to keep ourselves safe is futile. Terrorists already know what they need to. I hate every one of them but it does not cloud my realization that if they wanted to be here causing trouble, they would be already.

[nextgenman]

Oxygen Tank? I wonder if it was McCain''s?