According to investigators, last week’s Qantas airliner incident that seriously injured dozens of peple might have been caused by either Bluetooth laptop computers or electronic game devices.
The Qantas airline QF72 suddenly went
amok over the Indian Ocean because of a computer glitch in the autopilot controls. Luckily they were able land safely, though dozens of travelers were seriously injured. About 20 of the passengers suffered spinal injuries, broken bones or lacerations when they were flung from their seats on to the ceiling and walls.
Investigators speculate that electromagnetic waves (
Bluetooth) from a computer or a wireless mouse or even an electronic game might have interfered with autopilot controls and may have caused it to plunge.
The investigators will be interviewing every passenger on whether they were using any electronic equipment on the flight.
Julian Walsh, director of aviation safety investigation told
AFP:
Certainly there was a period of time where the aircraft performed of its own accord. We don't know and we don't fully understand the dynamics of this event.
The Qantas officials, however, have blamed the incident on a glitch in the aircraft’s computer. They thought one or two sensors working together with the controls may have been covered by ice or a foreign object and might have fed wrong information into the computer.
But for now, the investigators are focusing on a Bluetooth mouse or an electronic game, which might have disrupted the aircraft’s sophisticated controls.
The investigators have already tested this theory and found that on a recent Qantas flight a passenger clicking a wireless mouse made the jumbo jet shift to a sudden three-degree drop.
Investigators: Laptop may have caused Qantas airline QF72 incident
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