A faulty computer unit likely caused a Qantas jetliner to experience two terrifying midair plunges within minutes last week, an Australian investigator said Tuesday.
More than 40 people were injured when the Airbus A330-300 briefly nose-dived twice during a flight from Singapore to the western Australian city of Perth last Tuesday.
Julian Walsh, chief air investigator at the Australian Transport Safety Bureau, said an initial investigation indicated the cause was a computer unit that detects through sensors the angle of the plane against the airstream. He said one of the plane's three such units malfunctioned and sent the wrong data to the main flight computers.
