Qantas compensation to cost 'tens of millions'

[jandajoy]

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Qantas compensation to cost 'tens of millions'

Posted 2 hours 52 minutes ago
Updated 2 hours 33 minutes ago
The mid-air emergency left several passengers with spinal injuries. (PerthNow.com.au)

• Map: Exmouth 6707
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• Related Story: Qantas plane fell 200m in 20 seconds
• Related Story: Qantas passengers' spinal injuries unclear

An aviation lawyer predicts Qantas will face a compensation bill running into tens of millions of dollars over Tuesday's mid-air emergency which left several passengers with spinal injuries.
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau has revealed Qantas flight 72 from Singapore to Perth dropped about 200 metres in 20 seconds, followed by a second nose-dive of 122 metres in about 16 seconds.
The plane made an emergency landing near Exmouth.
About 70 people were injured and aviation lawyer Peter Carter says Qantas will face a hefty compensation bill running into the tens of millions.
"I think Qantas and their insurers would be well aware of those sort of figures," he said.
He says it is time the Australian Government increased the $500,000 individual compensation claim threshold Australian airlines are subject to.

Holiday ruined

Nancy McGrain, 64, was on Qantas flight 72 when the violent descent occurred.
She had been enjoying her last big overseas holiday with her husband and daughter.
Mrs McGrain suffered bruised vertebrae and wants Qantas to pay for any medical expenses her insurance does not cover.
"Because it is so traumatic, it's ruined the holiday, our biggie holiday, the last one we were going to do," she said.
But Ms McGrain also wants to thank Qantas for the care she received after the emergency.
"I couldn't fault the care by Qantas at all on the plane after it happened. They were fantastic and all of the care we got at, was it Learmonth we went to? They were superb," she said.
Qantas says it will refund the cost of every passenger's ticket and give them a free travel voucher, as well as contacting injured passengers about paying for medical and other expenses.

[Mid]

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau has revealed Qantas flight 72 from Singapore to Perth dropped about 200 metres in 20 seconds, followed by a second nose-dive of 122 metres in about 16 seconds.

these figures right ? that Bolt fella is capable of these .

[Loy Toy]

I was on a MH flight from Kuala Lumpur to Quantan on the east coast of Malaysia and the plane suddenly turned sideways. I had a window seat and the lady I was travelling at the time was almost laying on top of me sideways (SHOULDER TO SHOULDER) and to give you some idea about the angle it was flying at.

Food had just been served and it was now everywhere on the walls, cabin ceiling and splaterred over everyone on board.

A number of people had quite serious injuries and apart from having in-flight food all over me I was OK apart from having shitted my pants.

The plane landed and the captain apologized for the "turbulance" and that was it. All injured people were asked to stay on the plane and in their seats and the rest of us passengers left the plane.

No compensation, no free coupons and certainly no worldwide sensational media coverage.

Qantas still has the safest records and as of today have never suffered one casuality or death during its operation history.

I would expect that compensation should be forthcoming only and after they have established exactly what happened. Surely no airline should be made accountable for turbulance and or weather induced situations.

[peterpan]

Aviation Lawyer.
Hes just some parasite raising expectations of a big payout, provided you retain him of course.
Fvckin arseholes, give a respectable profession a bad name.

[terry57]

I've taken hundreds of plane flight's in my time as I fly every 10 weeks.

My # 1 rule is to always keep my seat belt on. Many people unfasten there seat belt when the captain gives the all clear, I always give a little chuckle as I know these people will hit the ceiling if there is a problem with the plane.

Why its not compulsory to have a fastened seat belt at all times is beyond me as we must wear one in a car in the civilized world so whats the difference when you are in a plane at 30,000 feet ????

I would of thought it would be of equal importance, but who am I to judge ?

I'll just carry on fastening my seat belt and if this ever occurs when I'm on a plane I wont give a flying fuk as I'll be safely belted into my seat.

People are just plain silly sometimes.

[baldrick]

My # 1 rule is to always keep my seat belt on.

yes , you can bet all the injured did not have seatbelts on.

tip - never irritate a pilot flying a high winged cessna for skydiving , you piss him about while you are spotting for the jump and it is quite easy for him to give you a couple of positive g's and kick you out the door.

Passenger laptop computers are now being investigated as a possible cause of the Qantas mid-air emergency off Western Australia on Tuesday.
The Airbus A330-300, with 303 passengers and a crew of 10, experienced what the airline described as a "sudden change in altitude" north of its destination on Tuesday.
The mid-air incident resulted in injuries to 74 people, with 51 of them treated by three hospitals in Perth for fractures, lacerations and suspected spinal injuries when the flight bound from Singapore to Perth had a dramatic drop in altitude that hurled passengers around the cabin.
In July, a passenger clicking on a wireless mouse mid-flight was blamed for causing a Qantas jet to be thrown off course, according to the Australian Transport Safety Bureau's monthly report.
Safety investigators will now ask passengers if they were using any electronic equipment at the time of this latest incident.
"Certainly in our discussions with passengers that is exactly the sort of question we will be asking - 'Were you using a computer?'," The Courier Mail quoted an Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) spokesman as saying.

The ATSB said the pilots received messages about "some irregularity with the aircraft's elevator control system", before the plane climbed 300 feet and then nosedived.
"The aircraft is then reported to have abruptly pitched nose down," the director of aviation safety investigation Julian Walsh said.
The plane was forced to make an emergency landing at Learmonth air force base near Exmouth in WA.

[Marmite the Dog]

My # 1 rule is to always keep my seat belt on.

Me too. I don't understand why people want to fuckin' walk about all the time getting in the way of the cabin crew on a 1 hour flight.

[lom]

^ Bollox.
Tell me how I am supposed to be able to collect my 4pcs of hand luggage (there is never enough room in the compartment for my row so it is all spread around nearby rows) and be first in line to disembark the plane if I have to wait for their stupid "pling"

[baldrick]

one solution to both your issues is to climb into the baggage compartment.

thus you do not have to wear a seatbelt and are in close proximity to your luggage.

pleased to be of assistance.

[The Gentleman Scamp]

My # 1 rule is to always keep my seat belt on. Many people unfasten there seat belt when the captain gives the all clear, I always give a little chuckle as I know these people will hit the ceiling if there is a problem with the plane.

Me too, and I always make sure I never order the omelette.

[klongmaster]

An aviation lawyer predicts Qantas will face a compensation bill running into tens of millions of dollars

Bollocks...as long as the passengers were advised to keep their seat belts fastened while seated even though the seat belt sign was off, the airline has no liability in case of accident...

idiots who try to show off and unclick as soon as the sign goes off deserve all they get when the plane experiences 'turbulence'...

[Mid]

3rd hand story of an SQ pilot touching the brakes a tad excessively whilst wagering with the chief steward as to the number decked ...............