Depressurisation and emergency descent — Airbus A330

Summary

A Qantas A330 operating Perth to Melbourne experienced a cabin depressurisation indication at FL380, prompting the crew to initiate an emergency descent. The cabin altitude had reached 14,000 ft when oxygen masks deployed. A seal failure in the forward cargo door was identified as the cause. The aircraft diverted to Adelaide. All 247 passengers and 9 crew were safe.

Investigation Findings (4)

1. 01The forward cargo door door seal had developed a localised failure after 12,000 pressurisation cycles.
2. 02The seal failure was not detectable during the current scheduled inspection.
3. 03Airbus issued a service bulletin recommending earlier seal replacement for high-cycle A330 aircraft.
4. 04CASA mandated compliance with the Airbus SB within 1,000 pressurisation cycles.