07 January 2009

Naval base dismisses fears of aircraft safety issue

SYDNEY ââ¬' Reports of a so-called Ningaloo Triangle ââ¬' an area where aircraft strike problems when flying close to a naval communications base in Western Australia - have been dismissed as scare-mongering.

Two Qantas A330 aircraft have encountered navigation problems while flying close to Ningaloo Reef at Exmouth.

There has been speculation that signals from the Harold E. Holt base interfered with communications systems on the aircraft.

The manager of the base said it was highly unlikely that radio signals from the base could scramble commercial jet navigation systems because the two used different frequency bands.

He said the two incidents since October, both involving Qantas Airbus A330 jets, were more likely due to an aircraft fault.

"If we affected planes like that, we would have a lot more issues," said the base manager.

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau is investigating the two incidents, one in December, and a more serious one last October when several passengers were injured when an A330 plunged dramatically, before making an emergency landing at a nearby airport.

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