Qantas cargo plane suddenly plummeted by 10,000 feet (Daily Mail photo)
On Wednesday, an Australian Airways (Qantas) cargo plane dropped abruptly at 20, 000 feet, causing the co-pilot to fall into a coma.
A Boeing 737 cargo plane from Brisbane to Melbourne suddenly issued a wing overheating alert on Wednesday, the Daily Mail reported. At the time, the cargo plane was passing over the area near (Narrandera) in Narendra, New State, when the co-pilot fell into a coma due to a loss of pressure in the cabin. The captain, wearing an oxygen mask, dropped the emergency cargo plane from 20, 000 feet to 8000 feet.
At present, the authorities are investigating the accident.
Qantas spokesman revealed that the accident was caused by air conditioning failure. On Wednesday night, the Boeing 737 was diverted to Canberra due to a failure in its air conditioning system, which affected pressure in the cabin. The cargo plane then landed safely at Canberra airport. As a precaution, both pilots were taken to hospital for observation and were soon released. Qantas is investigating the incident and engineers are checking cargo planes.
According to standard practice, cargo planes are usually run by two pilots.
The Australian Transport Safety Authority, (The Australian Transport Safety Bureau), is also investigating the incident and has released a preliminary investigation report.
The report said the wing overheat warning suggested a leak in the corresponding exhaust pipe, in the event of an accident in which the air-conditioning system failed, forcing the plane to divert. With this type of warning, the plane can still operate normally, but the pilot must lower his altitude to adapt to the pressure, and then find a place to land.
The Australian Transportation Safety Authority will collect and inspect flight data records and talk to aircraft crew and maintenance personnel. At the end of the investigation, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau will issue a final investigation report. (he Rong)
