46 Hurt as Jet Nose-Dives on Way to Singapore
A Qantas Boeing 747 on an overnight flight from Sydney to Singapore nose-dived from 32,000 feet, catapulting passengers into the roof of the cabin and injuring 46 of them, airline officials said today.
The jumbo jet landed at Darwin, where the injured, most suffering from bruises and whiplash and one with broken ribs, were taken to a hospital.
The airliner, with 305 passengers, was cruising on auto-pilot when the plane went into a steep climb for 1,500 feet, the officials said. The pilot disengaged the auto-pilot, sending the jet into a violent descent.
“Everyone was screaming ‘No, no!’ and everyone thought we were going to die--I thought we were going to die,” said Dutch student Eric Grooters.
Passengers reported seeing people’s heads punching holes in the cabin’s ceiling tiles.
Qantas officials said they were unsure if the incident was due to an auto-pilot fault or to turbulence.
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