Qantas Faces More Safety Issues

More safety woes for Qantas, all in the course of 24 hours: MSNBC is reporting that the pilot on a Qantas airliner was forced to rapidly descend more than 25,000 feet on Tuesday after the cabin lost pressure due to an air conditioning problem.

An airline spokesperson said oxygen masks were deployed on the Adelaide-to-Melbourne flight, and the jet — a Boeing 737-400 — dropped from 36,000 feet to 10,000 feet.

The jet was reportedly carrying 99 passengers, and was 30 minutes away from its destination when the depressurization and subsequent descent happened. The plane landed safely in Melbourne, and no injuries were reported.

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Meanwhile, Reuters is reporting that a Qantas 747 plane was forced to turn back to Bangkok and make an emergency landing due to "technical problems." The Australian noted—somewhat wryly—that the passengers were forced to spend Australia Day away from Australia.

It is worth noting that Qantas has never had a fatal jet airliner accident.