Qantas

A Qantas Boeing 747 00 commercial airplane flies above the opera house in Sydney, Australia. (Corbis Corporation)... 

Another example is the global pressure on the airline industry to improve the overall safety of air travel. During 2012 and 2013, there was a significant drop in airline fatalities below the 10-year average of 750 fatalities. In 2013, there were 29 airline accidents and a record-low 265 fatalities for about 31 million passenger and cargo commercial flights worldwide. In 2012, there were 23 airline accidents and 475 fatalities. Qantas Airline is one of the... 

Examples of media coverage include FWA upholds Qantas safety check cuts. (2012, June 14). ABC News. Qantas set to shed another 30 engineers. (2012, June 14). AAP Lannen, D. (2012, November 9). 260 Avalon Jobs Axed Qantas cuts even more maintenance workers, Geelong Advertiser. 

We would like to thank our research partners, the Civil Aviation Safety Authority, Qantas, and the Australian and International Pilots Association, and the Australian Research Council for supporting this research. 

Qantas Airways systan safety audit process (which is based on ICAO... 

Qantas Airways system safety audit process... 

QANTAS FLIGHT 72 A SERIOUS INCIDENT INVOLVING SMART DEVICES WITH MIXED CONTROL AND PROTECTION... 

This photo shows some of the damage to the cabin roof caused by passengers and crew being thrown upwards by the sudden pitch down of Qantas flight 72. (Photo courtesy of Australian Transport Safety Bureau, Report AO-2008-070.)... 

Finally, it is notable that an earlier case of the data-spike failure mode had occurred in 2006. One is forced to conclude that the events of Qantas 72 indicate a failure of adequate incident investigation in 2006. (We have already seen the consequences of inadequate or tardy accident investigation in Chapter 4. Accident and incident investigation will be discussed further in Chapter 10.)... 

Software systemfailures were considered in Chapter 5, and also were a significant factor in the Whatcom Park pipeline accident described in Chapter 12. These are an important area of risk as software-based control systems and protection systems have become ubiquitous. The Qantas 72 incident - which by good fortune killed no one - is an excellent example of inadequate failure modes analysis. Software systems can become so complex that it is very difficult to foresee all possible failure modes. Qantas 72 is also an excellent example of the challenges posed by using smart devices where the software has been produced by a third party. Finally, Qantas 72 is also an example of the additional difficulties that arise when there is not absolute separation between control and protection systans - as becomes necessary in aircraft systems, although this separation should always be maintained in hazardous process plants. 

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