Australian air safety investigators are exploring whether interference from a US-Australian naval transmitter or even a passenger’s laptop caused a Qantas jetliner to nose-dive twice over the Australian coast last month, an official said yesterday.
Initial investigations of the midair emergency that injured 44 people, 13 seriously, indicated the Oct. 7 malfunction on the Airbus A330-300 was caused by a fault in a computer unit that uses sensors to detect the angle of the plane.
While that theory is still considered the most likely, investigators are looking into whether the fault could lie with electromagnetic interference from a low-frequency naval submarine communications transmitter on the northwest coast at Exmouth, near where the plane made its emergency landing.
The Naval Communications Station, Harold E. Holt, was built by the US Navy in the 1960s. It provides very low frequency radio transmissions to the US and Australian navies across the western Pacific and eastern Indian oceans.
Another possible source of the interference is portable electronic devices, such as cellphones, Australian Transport Safety Bureau director Kerryn Macaulay said. She said even those considered safe to operate during flights, such as laptop computers, are being investigated.
“Possible external sources of electromagnetic interference are being explored and assessed,” she said.
But even as investigators consider that theory, the plane’s three computer units — called air data inertial reference units (ADIRUs) — will be examined next week at manufacturer Northrop Grumman Corp’s factory in the US, the bureau said in a preliminary report.
The electromagnetic interference “is unlikely, especially if the problem is clearly identified during the ADIRU and the system testing,” Macaulay said.
Qantas said its own investigations found the likely cause of the emergency was a “manufacturer fault” in the computer unit.
The plane nose-dived 200m in 20 seconds, followed by a second drop of about 120m in 16 seconds.
Taiwan last night blanked world No. 1 Japan 4-0 to win the World Baseball Softball Confederation’s (WBSC) Premier12 for the first time. Taiwanese ace Lin Yu-min (林昱珉) held defending champions Japan to just one hit and no runs in the first four innings, before catcher Lin Chia-cheng (林家正) opened the fifth inning with a solo home run. That was soon followed by a three-run homer from Taiwanese captain Chen Chieh-hsien (陳傑憲) to put Taiwan ahead in the prestigious tournament of the world’s top 12 baseball teams. In addition to a superb performance from 21-year-old Arizona Diamondbacks prospect Lin, three more Taiwanese pitchers
SUPPORT: Arms sales to NATO Plus countries such as Japan, South Korea and Israel only have to be approved by the US Congress if they exceed US$25m The US should amend a law to add Taiwan to the list of “NATO Plus” allies and streamline future arms sales, a US commission said on Tuesday in its annual report to the US Congress. The recommendation was made in the annual report by the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission (USCC), which contained chapters on US-China economic and trade ties, security relations, and Taiwan and Hong Kong. In the chapter on Taiwan, the commission urged the US Congress to “amend the Arms Export Control Act of 1976 to include Taiwan on the list of ‘NATO Plus’ recipients,” referring to
Taiwan yesterday advanced to the gold medal match of the World Baseball Softball Confederation’s (WBSC) Premier12 for the first time in history, despite last night losing 9-6 to Japan. Taiwan advanced after the US defeated Venezuela in the first game on the last day of the Super Round. However, the US had no chance of advancing to the championship game unless it defeated Venezuela by at least nine points. The US won 6-5. As a result, the two teams — who both had one win and two losses in the Super Round — are to face off again in the
Minister of Labor Ho Pei-shan (何佩珊) said she would tender her resignation following criticism of her handling of alleged bullying by Ministry of Labor Workforce Development Agency branch director Hsieh Yi-jung (謝宜容) resulting in the death of an employee. The ministry yesterday gave Hsieh two demerits and said she is subject to review by the Disciplinary Court. The severest possible punishment would be her removal from office and being barred from government jobs indefinitely. Workforce Development Agency Director-General Tsai Meng-liang (蔡孟良) also received a major demerit and was transferred to another position. Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) issued a formal apology
RSS