A few weeks ago, a 10-year old boy’s letter to the CEO of Qantas and the heart-warming reply he got from the CEO, broke the internet. The letters went viral on social media, and online news outlets published it because it’s not every day that the CEO of a major airline replies to letters from 10-yr old boys. It’s even more surprising how the CEO of Qantas, Alan Joyce, found the time to reply to the 10-year old boy, Alex Jacquot, but in the past ten years, has been ignoring the heroes who saved 315 passengers on Qantas Flight 72 (QF72).

Not to rain on Alex Jacquot’s parade, but could it be that Alan responded to the young boy’s letter to gain publicity?

How Three Heroes Saved 315 Lives Onboard Qantas Flight 72 in “Terror Flight From Hell”

Ten Years ago, on October 7, 2008, a Qantas Airbus A330 carrying 315 passengers from Singapore to Perth was 37,000 feet in the air when the autopilot disengaged as a result of a computer malfunction, and the aircraft nose-dived twice towards the Indian Ocean. If not for the bravery of the three heroes at the helm; Qantas Captain Kevin Sullivan (Ret.), First Officer Peter Lipsett, and Second Officer Ross Hales, the aircraft would have ended up at the bottom of the Indian Ocean, certainly ending the lives of the 315 people onboard.

According to Captain Sullivan in an interview, “the plane went psycho,” and he and his copilot lost control of the aircraft. The Airbus A330 aircraft’s computer, which had gone rogue, ordered the plane to nosedive repeatedly, plummeting a total of about 600 feet towards the Indian Ocean. At first, the aircraft plunged 150 feet down in 2 seconds, and Sullivan fought to take control and bring it back to 37,000 feet. However, almost immediately, the plane nosedived 400 feet in 15 seconds, again.

Captain Sullivan then declared a mayday and executed a military manoeuvre he learned from his time in the US Navy. This brave act along with the assistance of his co-pilots helped prevent another sudden nosedive, which would have been catastrophic and fatal, as they made an emergency landing at Learmonth Airport in Western Australia, 50 minutes after the first nose dive.

The flight which was described as a “Terror Flight From Hell” by many of the passengers is aptly nicknamed, as one could only imagine the terror that filled the minds of the passenger and crew, as the plane raced down towards the ocean. Thankfully, at the end of the incident, only 119 people had minor injuries, and 12 sustained severe injuries, from being thrown out of their seats onto the ceiling, during the repeated nosedives. This was a great miracle performed by three brave heroes.

Does The CEO of Qantas Really Put Safety First?

It is unfair and unacceptable that after this near-crash, the three brave men who averted the death of 315 people aboard the QF72 never received any acknowledgment from the Australian Government or Qantas. For several years, I’ve been writing letters to the CEO of Qantas, Alan Joyce to acknowledge these heroes, and to the Prime Minister of Australia, Hon Scott Morrison MP, to recognise them for their brave action.

Although I got a reply from the Prime Minister, suggesting I nominate these heroic men for The Group Bravery Citation Award, I find the suggested award belittling of the heroism of these men. On the other hand, the CEO of Qantas keeps ignoring all of my letters to him, which shows that he didn’t really value safety, contrary to what he said in his letter to young Alex Jacquot.

To quote Alan Joyce in his letter to Alex, “My number one tip for starting an airline is to put safety front and center…”

I believe this statement is largely untrue, as long as he keeps ignoring the three heroes who put safety front and center on QF72 and did all it took to get 315 people home, safely. If Alan Joyce really puts safety first and would like Mr. Jacquot to have this in mind for his airline, would he not acknowledge the heroes of QF72? Would acknowledging these heroes not teach young Alex that having brave and capable people at the helm is also an integral part of ensuring safety?

My answer to these questions is Yes and Yes!

So, this leaves me no choice than to think that the CEO of Qantas only replied to little Alex, to gain positive publicity for Qantas. Surely, you must admit that Qantas’s brand image will improve tremendously and gain financially from the publicity generated from the CEOs engagement with Alex. It is quite sad and disappointing that Qantas CEO, Alan Joyce, is refusing to honour deserving heroes, simply because there’s nothing apparent to gain.

More Than Just Saving 315 Lives, They Saved The World

In addition to the Australian Government and Qantas refusal to recognise Captain Sullivan and his co-pilots; Airbus, the company that made the aircraft never publicly thanked these men for saving 315 souls from a tragedy that would have been caused by their faulty aircraft. Neither did they apologise to these men and the passengers for what they had to go through on the flight.

Airbus ought to acknowledge these men because they didn’t just save the 315 people on QF72, but also potentially saved hundreds of lives that would have perished as a result of the same mechanical error possibly occurring in any of the over 600 Airbus A330 aircraft in operation all over the world. Getting the plane and the people on it to safety, enabled the ATSB to carry out a thorough and swift investigation to figure out what caused the aircraft to nosedive.

ATSB lead investigator, Michael Walker, said on a program “Although we didn’t actually find a full explanation, we found enough of an explanation to reduce the risk of this happening again.”

This sufficient explanation for the near-crash of QF72 found by the ATSB, which may not have been found if the plane had nosedived into the Indian Ocean, helped saved the world. It enabled Airbus to implement software changes to prevent a similar error in other Airbus A330 aircraft, which may not be fortunate enough to have someone like Captain Sullivan and his crew at the helm.

Sign and Share This Petition To Get Recognition For This Deserving Heroes

For the past ten years, Captain Sullivan and his co-pilots have not been acknowledged for their heroic actions and, up till today, he struggles with chronic PTSD as a direct result of Qantas Flight 72. However, Sullivan, a very modest and well-respected citizen, downplays this heroic action, by stating that he and his crew were just doing their jobs.

Nevertheless, I believe that they are remarkable human beings who have certainly ticked all the boxes to be recognised by the Australian Government, Qantas, and Airbus. Anyone could have frozen in such a situation, but Qantas Captain Kevin Sullivan (Ret.), First Officer Peter Lipsett and Second Officer Ross Hales took control of the situation and remained coolheaded and courageous under such extreme pressure.

Over 300 people and I owe our lives to these men, and so I would not stop writing letters or petitioning Qantas and the Australian Government. I’m calling on the people of Australia, and the world at large to join me in this fight by signing this petition, share it online, and making it go viral, until Qantas, the Australian Government, and Airbus do what is right and acknowledge these heroes.

Together We Can Move A Nation!