OzJet passengers told to don lifejackets after wing fails

AIR safety investigators have ordered the "black box" recorder pulled from an Ozjet Boeing 737-200 after a wing component failure near Norfolk Island on Saturday led to passengers being ordered to don lifejackets and prepare for an ocean ditching.

The Air Transport Safety Bureau confirmed last night it had launched an investigation into the incident and had asked for the flight data recorder as well as broken components in the leading edge slat on the right wing.

"We'll look at the flight recorder first and see what the aircraft actually did and, of course, we'll look at the broken mechanical parts," the spokesman said.

The plane from Brisbane had an estimated 100 passengers on board and is still on the ground in Noumea, where it landed after diverting from Norfolk, about 750km away.

Travellers said they feared for their lives after bad weather forced the plane to abort a landing at Norfolk Island and the slat, a moveable panel at the front of the wing, partially broke loose.

"It was going from side-to-side, rocking," a passenger from Brisbane told The Australian. "You'd go from the left, to the right, to the left as if the plane was sort of drunk. It was vibrating as well, the whole plane was shaking."

The passenger, who did not wish to be named, said it took at least 10 to 15 minutes to stabilise the aircraft, but that was not before one of the pilots had ordered cabin crew to prepare for a possible water landing and passengers were told to don life jackets. "It was either they got the plane stabilised or we were going in," he said. "That was it, that was the end of the story."

The passenger said he doubted the plane would have survived a ditching, given the size of the waves below.

He said passengers were also required to review the brace position adopted in crashes prior to landing in Noumea.

He praised the efforts of the pilots and cabin crew in handling the upset, but criticised Ozjet for not debriefing passengers or providing them with enough information after the plane landed inNoumea.

The airline accommodated passengers at a local hotel and sent out another aircraft to pick them up the next day.

The passenger said he saw at least one fellow passenger collapsed at the airport after the ordeal and understood another had problems during the night.

The ATSB spokesman said the damaged plane was expected to return to Australia in the next day or so.

He said the decision by the crew to don life jackets and brief passengers was expected, given that the plane was over ocean.

Attempts to contact Ozjet were unsuccessful.

* The ATSB is investigating a second incident with an Ozjet aircraft yesterday. The Ozjet 737-200 was flying from Port Moresby to Brisbane when it developed severe vibrations.

The aircrew declared a mayday and returned to Port Moresby, where it landed safely.

A check on the ground found half a trim tab - which helps stabilise the aircraft's lateral trim - had broken free.

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/st ... 49,00.html