Qantas Drama...
Qantas 'regrets' injuries caused in plane evacuation
A Qantas executive says the airline regrets that nine people were injured during an emergency evacuation of one of its planes in Japan early this morning.
However the airline says it is not embarrassed by the incident.
An A330 Airbus bound for Perth with 191 passengers and crew on board had to make an emergency landing in Osaka after a sensor indicated smoke in the cargo hold.
Nine people were hurt during the evacuation and a Japanese man remains in hospital with what is believed to be a fractured hip.
Qantas head of engineering, David Cox, says it is not yet clear whether there was a fire or the sensor was faulty, but it was essential to get people off the plane as quickly as possible.
"Obviously we regret that those injuries have occurred but it is not unusual during an evacuation for there to be some minor injuries," he said.
"Obviously a fracture is at the top end of the injuries you'd expect but it is an evacuation so you go down that slide very quickly."
Mr Cox, says he is confident cabin crew followed the evacuation procedures to the letter.
"The aircraft systems, evacuation systems are designed to get people off, within 90 seconds and that means they're going to go down those slides very, very quickly and there is the risk of minor injuries," he said.
"That's got to be balanced against the more serious consequence of not being able to evacuate as quickly as you can."