Investigators suspect oxygen cylinder blast in Qantas accident

Jul 27, 2008, 7:30 GMT

Qantas ground crew view the damage right side wing of Qantas plane after an emergency landing at Manila airport in Manila, Philippines on 25 July 2008. Qantas flight QF 030 bound for Mebourne from Hongkong made an emeregency landing at Nino Aquino International Airport due to cabin pressurization problem with 350 passenger on board EPA/DENNIS M. SABANGAN

Manila - Australian investigators said Sunday an oxygen cylinder may have caused a mid-air explosion that punched a three-metre hole in a Qantas Boeing 747 jet, which was forced to make an emergency landing in the Philippines.

Neville Blyth, an investigator with the Australian Transport Safety Bureau, said an oxygen cylinder was missing near the ruptured belly of the plane, which was carrying 346 passengers and 19 crew when the accident occurred on Friday.

'It is too early to say whether this was the cause of the explosion, but one of the cylinders which provides back up oxygen is missing,' he told a press conference in Manila two days after the accident.

Blyth said investigators found no indication that a bomb caused the hole in the fuselage.

Tests did not detect any bomb residue, and bomb-sniffing dogs did not find any signs of explosives either, he said.

'There is no evidence of a security-related event here,' he said.

Blyth said the investigation was still continuing and a full report should be released in 'two to three months.'

The flight originated from London and was on its way to Melbourne from Hong Kong when the explosion occurred, triggering a sudden loss of air pressure in the cabin and causing the plane to plunge 6,000 metres before stabilizing.

All passengers and crew were unharmed but some suffered dizziness and vomiting. They were checked by medical personnel upon landing at Manila's international airport, and continued their flight in a replacement plane nearly 12 hours later.