In-flight upset - 154 km west of Learmonth, WA, 7 October 2008,

Up until 2009, the A330 had not been associated with any accidents resulting infatalities. On 1 June 2009, an Airbus 330-200, operated as flight AF447, impactedthe Atlantic Ocean on a flight from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to Paris, France. Aninvestigation by the French Bureau d’Enquêtes et d’Analyses pour la sécurité del’aviation civile (BEA) is ongoing, and all the factors contributing to the accidenthave yet to be determined. 73The AF447 accident and the 7 October 2008 accident on flight QF72 involved avery different set of events and conditions. More specifically:• On the AF447 flight, there were a series of fault messages that showedinconsistencies between the measured airspeeds calculated by the threeADIRUs, as well as consequences on other aircraft systems. Such messageshave occurred on several flights near large cumulous cloud build-ups, and theyhave been associated with pitot probe obstruction due to icing. During the QF72flight on 7 October 2008, the aircraft did not encounter weather conditionsassociated with pitot probe icing, there was no problem with the performance ofthe pitot probes, and there were no fault messages that showed airspeedinconsistencies. Although ADIRU 1 provided some incorrect airspeed data,there was no problem with the data provided by the other two ADIRUs.• In contrast to the QF72 event, the AF447 event did not involve an ADIRUfailure. The ADIRUs on the two aircraft were different models made bydifferent manufacturers, and the model fitted to the A330 that was involved inAF447 has not been associated with any ADIRU data-spike occurrences.• During both flights, stall warnings occurred. However, during the QF72 flight,the stall warnings were brief, nuisance warnings associated with incorrect AOAdata from an ADIRU, and the aircraft did not approach or enter an aerodynamicstall during the flight.1.17 Organisational and management information1.17.1 A330 operationsThe operator commenced A330 operations in late 2002. At the time of the7 October 2008 occurrence, the operator’s A330 fleet included 10 A330-303aircraft and six A330-202 aircraft. An associated Australian operator (Jetstar) hadfive A330-202 aircraft, with a sixth joining its fleet in late 2008. The operator ofQPA controlled the maintenance for all 22 A330 aircraft. All the aircraft wereobtained new from the manufacturer, and all were fitted with the same types ofADIRUs and FCPCs as fitted to QPA.Throughout the period from 2003 to 2008, the Qantas/Jetstar A330 fleet conducted60,973 sectors and accumulated 312,834 flight hours. In 2008, the fleet conducted9,149 sectors and accumulated 93,406 flight hours.73The BEA has released three Interim Reports on the accident which are available atwww.bea.aero/en.- 63 -