Article from: The Australian
July 28, 2008 12:01am
QANTAS last night began inspecting oxygen bottles on its Boeing 747-400s after investigators found cylinder fragments embedded in luggage and the cargo hold ceiling of the jumbo jet involved in Friday's mid-air explosion near The Philippines.
While the Australian Transport Safety Bureau was refusing to rule out causes such as structural fatigue for a gaping hole in the Boeing 747-400, aviation sources said oxygen bottle failure was now at the top of investigators' list, The Australian reports.
Aviation sources said the force of the explosion near the base of the aircraft's right wing and underneath a door pushed up the passenger cabin floor as it tore through the metal hull.
They said there were two oxygen bottles in the area near the hole, and a failure was unprecedented.
ATSB spokesman Neville Blyth confirmed last night that a cylinder providing back-up oxygen was missing, but said it was too early to say whether this caused the explosion.