A Boeing 737-838 of Australian airline Qantas operating a flight from Adelaide to Canberra had to make an emergency landing at Melbourne on Tuesday morning following a decompression that saw oxygen masks deploy.
Flight QF706 had departed from Adelaide normally around 0610 in the morning and the first part of the flight had been uneventful. The aircraft was at approximately 25,000 feet when a loud bang was heard by passengers at the back of the aircraft, oxygen masks deployed automatically and the crew carried out a rapid and controlled descent to 10,000 feet.
At the lower altitude, passengers were able to breathe normally and the crew instructed them to remove their masks. The crew then made an expedited arrival into Melbourne and passengers transferred to other flights.
Qantas QF706 diverted to Melbourne due to cabin depressurisation. @3AW693 @3AWNeilMitchell #qantas #aviation pic.twitter.com/WVLxan8B93— Daneloft (@daneloft) 4 March 2019
A spokesperson for the airline insisted; "Our pilots and cabin crew handled the incident in line with standard operating procedures. We would like to thank our customers who followed the crew instructions and remained calm during the diversion."
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau is investigating the incident, "The ATSB can confirm it has been notified of an occurrence this morning where a Boeing 737 on a flight from Adelaide to Canberra diverted to Melbourne due to reported pressurisation issues," a spokesperson said. "The ATSB will gather information into the occurrence before making a decision on whether or not to formally investigate."
The aircraft registration VH-VXL was examined by engineers in Melbourne and returned to service later in the day.
