`No Evidence' Laptop Computer Caused Qantas Jet Dive, Body Says

By Angela Macdonald-Smith

Oct. 11 (Bloomberg) -- Australia's transport safety watchdog said there was ``no evidence'' to suggest the use of portable electronic devices by passengers contributed to a mid- flight plunge by a Qantas Airways Ltd. aircraft.

An initial review of information from the aircraft's flight data recorder indicate some ``issues with some on-board components,'' the Australian Transport Safety Bureau said in a statement on its Web site. Further examination of the auto-pilot system, data sources and flight control computers is needed, it said.

Passengers on board flight QF72 from Singapore to Perth on Oct. 7 were slammed into the cabin ceiling when the Airbus A330- 300 aircraft twice went into a nose-down pitch. Forty-four of the flight's 313 passengers and crew needed hospital treatment for spinal injuries, broken bones, concussion or lacerations. The plane landed safely at a remote airstrip about 1,300 kilometers (800 miles) north of the Western Australian capital.

A team studying the aircraft at Learmonth airport found no structural or wiring defects, while the entire cargo load was property secured, the bureau said in the Oct. 10 statement.

A preliminary report into the incident will be released within about 30 days, the bureau said. Any critical safety issues that may emerge requiring urgent attention will immediately be relayed to the relevant authorities ahead of the release of the report, it said.

Qantas declined comment on the remarks by the bureau, given that the investigation is still under way, said Simon Rushton, the company's Sydney-based media relations manager.

To contact the reporter on this story: Angela Macdonald-Smith in Sydney at amacdonaldsm@bloomberg.net