Qantas to inspect oxygen bottles after 747 emergency

By Michael Perry

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Qantas was ordered on Sunday to check all oxygen bottles on its fleet of Boeing 747s after investigators said an exploding oxygen bottle might have ripped a hole in a Qantas 747, forcing it to make an emergency landing at Manila.

Australia's Civil Aviation Authority (CASA) said Qantas had agreed to inspect oxygen bottles on its fleet of 747s. The airline has about 30 of the Boeing model.

The Qantas aircraft made an emergency landing in Manila on Friday after part of its undercarriage blew off, triggering a loss in cabin pressure during a flight from Hong Kong to Melbourne.

"There are two cylinders located pretty much exactly where that hole appeared," CASA spokesman Peter Gibson told reporters.

"We do know there were two oxygen bottles in that area, we do know they're a main focus of the investigation, and we think it's prudent to put safety first, to get inspections done now rather than wait any longer," Gibson said.

In Manila, investigators from the Australian Transport Safety Bureau said there were no traces of explosive materials on the aircraft or passengers' baggage.

"At this stage, there was no evidence whatsoever that this is a security-related event," said Neville Blyth, senior investigator from the safety bureau.

"This is treated as a safety investigation and until such time as any evidence comes to light that this is a security-related event, the investigation will be conducted by the ATSB and the Philippines as standard safety event."  Continued...