Fragments, found on the Qantas 747 that had an emergency landing on Friday, are believed to be from an exploded oxygen tank. The combination of finding the fragments and the fact that some of the passenger’s oxygen masks did not work, the FAA is quite certain an oxygen tank is to blame for the explosion.
A few months ago the U.S. FAA prompted airlines to inspect their oxygen cylinders. They warned that cylinders on 747-400’s may not have been properly heat treated which could cause them to fail.
Qantas states that all their aircraft were inspected and passed. However, they have been ordered to inspect every oxygen bottle aboard all their 30 747’s.
All things considered, this incident could have been much worse.
Source: Sydney Morning Herald Image: MSNBC.com
