Source: Radio Australia Author: 07/29/2008
Subject Concerned: Government Airlines
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) says investigators are unable to review a cockpit recording of a critical phase of the Qantas mid-air emergency last week.
Senior ATSB investigator, Neville Blyth, says the recorder used a continuous loop and could only record the last two hours of conversation in the cockpit.
It did not capture what caused a hole the size of a mini-van to be ripped into the right side of the aircraft's fuselage, resulting in a sudden loss of cabin pressure which forced the flight crew to make an emergency landing in Manila.
Mr Blyth says investigators were forced to look for other recorded data on the aircraft, as well as maintenance records of about a dozen oxygen cylinders, to get a picture of what happened during the Hong Kong to Melbourne flight.
One theory is that an exploding oxygen cylinder ruptured the fuselage.
One of the cylinders aboard the plane is missing and some of its components were found near the hole.
"The maintenance is going to be the sharp focus," Mr Blyth said, showing one of the 20 kilogram cylinders.
"We're looking at the manufacture of the cylinder, the condition of the cylinder and any aspect of the installation of the cylinder.
"This is not a simple matter. There's a lot of ... information that needs to be gathered before any conclusions can be drawn."
The ATSB has appealed to passengers to provide information, including pictures and videos taken aboard the plane.
All 346 passengers and 19 crew disembarked safely in Manila.