Monday May 28, 2012

7 slightly injured after Qantas plane plummets due to turbulence

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  • 0

    USNinJapan2

    Just stay buckled up throughout the flight, or pay the consequences...

  • 0

    nandakandamanda

    Welocme to Russian Roulette. These people who go to sleep without figuring some way to get a seatbelt around them are uneducated, or just plain stupid.

  • 0

    Den Den

    Always wear a seatbelt, even if it is loose. I was on a plane when this happened, and I couldn't get a beer for over three hours as the staff were busy looking after the injured.

  • 0

    stirfry

    30 meters is a decent drop, but i think "plummets" is a bit dramatic

  • 0

    Beerplease

    An A330? Read this and you'll see why this incident is even scarier than it seems:

    Should the Airbus Be Grounded?

    http://www.consortiumnews.com/2009/062009a.html

  • 0

    smithinjapan

    "Maureen Thomson said she had gone to sleep during the flight without a seatbelt on and she hit the ceiling. She also saw a little girl sitting nearby who did an “absolute somersault”."

    Idiot! Sadly, this is the case FAR too often, and not just when people are sleeping. I've seen people cover their undone belts with their arm over their waist when a flight attendant comes around, making more effort to conceal the fact that they aren't wearing a seatbelt than to actually keep on one. The worst are Asian flights, I'm afraid to say, and people often taking off their belts when a plane is taxiing, or worse yet on descent so they can get a good view of the city/landing area just before the plane touches ground. There is no common sense. Aside from the flight attendants and the people using the toilet (or waiting to), no sympathy to those injured because they weren't wearing belts. Worst part is that they probably won't learn from it.

  • 0

    michelelisa

    Beerplease - this will probably turn out to be a case of clear air turbulence, rather than any mechanical problem on the aircraft's part. And as almost everyone else has commented, always wear a seatbelt while flying!

  • 0

    Beerplease

    I'm not claiming the cause was mechanical--I'm sure it was clear air turbulence or whatever--I'm making a point about the Airbus's ability to withstand that turbulence. Did you read the article? Long, but informative.

  • 0

    sensei258

    Always keep your seat belt fastened. This happened to me several years ago during meal service. In a split second, all the food was on the ceiling of the cabin. No warning.

  • 0

    pawatan

    Beerplease, the article's section regarding the recent Air France crash is fundamentally flawed, for it assumes the tail fin separated from the plane. It's been recovered separately from the plane, but when the separation occurred is currently unknown. It's very dangerous to assume the crash is related to the tail fin without a lot more information.

    There's been plenty of problems with metal components as well - look at the rudder hard-overs in the 90s (Silk Air, US Air in Pittsburgh) and the Alaska Airlines jackscrew failure.

  • 0

    Beerplease

    The wing spoilers failed, the rudder limiter became inoperative and the rudder may have locked into place. At this point, it is likely that the plastic stabilizer was ripped from the plane. [64] (messages sent from plane on rudder problem, Telegraph, June 14, 2009.)

    There is little or no likelihood that we will ever know whether the tail fin was blown off by the storm, as a result of the pilot’s attempt to control the plane, or by uncontrolled movements of the rudder.

    I guess you read this differently. And:

    Although aluminum vertical stabilizers may be heavier and accordingly provide less fuel economy, the fact is that there is no history of metal tail fins being torn from fuselages in commercial passenger aircraft in the past half century.

    I'm going to start avoiding Airbus.

  • 0

    pawatan

    I'm going to start avoiding Airbus.

    Feel free, but know that the new Boeing 787 uses more composites than any Airbus. Many Boeing aircaft have been downed by metal fatigue (just browse through Wikipedia for a few examples).

    There is little or no likelihood that we will ever know whether the tail fin was blown off by the storm

    There is little or no likelihood we will ever know if the tail fin even separated until they find more of the plane. I read alot of "may" "likely" and "perhaps" - all of which is conjecture. All these experts are trying to glean the cause solely from the automated messages sent by the aircraft. I don't know bout you but I prefer a whole lot more evidence than that before I think of a well-established, certified, and proven safe aircraft as fundamentally flawed.

    Moderator: Readers, please stay on topic. Please focus your comments on the Qantas incident.

  • 0

    Beerplease

    Feel free to draw your own conclusions. I do know about the new Boeing 787 and I would hope the composites aren't used in the critical area mentioned in the article.

  • 0

    Bento

    pawatan..i see you must be new here..substantial evidence has never been prerequired by posters here before they pronounce their verdicts.

  • 0

    Beerplease

    Nor make pronouncements about things they haven't read.

  • 0

    Beerplease

    I read a lot of "may" "likely" and "perhaps"

    Now you do.

  • 0

    WA4TKG

    "Plummet" ???!!; You call 30M a PLUMMET ? I was on a C-130 once, when the Captain came on the speaker and said: "We're about to hit some rough weather, PUT YOUR SEATBELT ON". I had BARELY sat back from clamping on the "Hooks", when the plane started dropping like a ROCK...he came BACK on, at the BOTTOM of the drop, and said: "In case you were WONDERING, we just went from an altitude of 19,000 feet, to 12,000". "Plummet"; yeah, RIGHT.

  • 0

    Beerplease

    Does the C-130 use composites?

  • 0

    cow76

    Beerplease, nobody really cares that much. Airbuses have some accidents and Boeings have some too. I guess you've just chosen a side and will defend it to the death.

    I think it's about time drinks came with a straw sticking through a hole like at McDonalds. Frigging turbulence strikes and then your groin smells of coffee for the next 16 hours. Not much fun.

  • 0

    TokyoGas

    Always use the seat belt! Even when I am in the toilet, I hang on to that bar... Ever since I read about someone who broke their neck on a flight, I have been very diligent about buckling up.

  • 0

    Beerplease

    Beerplease, nobody really cares that much. Airbuses have some accidents and Boeings have some too. I guess you've just chosen a side and will defend it to the death.

    Actually, I just read the article today and hadn't really given much thought to either maker until now (only that toilets on AB seem to have more problems). It seems some, though, had already taken the AB side.

    Hopefully, the side I choose will help me live longer. ;)

  • 0

    neverknow2

    7 slightly injured

    How is this even news?

  • 0

    Informed

    How is this even news?

    Do you base newsworthiness on how much damage is inflicted on humans? I think the important "news" is that you may want to keep your seatbelt on.

    >

  • 0

    DentShop

    People are getting cocky on flights these days. They use their phones, dont buckle up, try to smoke in the toilets and stick their noses up at safety demonstrations. I can tell the kind of person they are by the way they treat flight attendants. When these kind of people get their bones trashed in turbulence, I hope they tell others to buckle up!

  • 0

    LIBERTAS

    "Keep your seat belt loosely fastened at all times" is good advice.

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