7 Slightly Injured As Qantas Plane Hits Turbulence

Australian government safety officials were investigating the incident.

"There is no reason to link the incident to other recent in-flight incidents involving A330 aircraft," the Qantas statement said.

Three weeks ago, an Air France A330 jet fell into the Atlantic Ocean off the northeastern coast of Brazil after running into thunderstorms, killing all 228 people aboard. Investigations into that accident have focused on a flurry of automated messages sent by the plane minutes before it lost contact. One of the messages suggests external speed sensors had iced over, destabilizing the plane's control systems.

In October, a computer malfunction on a Qantas A330 flying from Singapore to Perth caused the jet to nose-dive twice, leaving 12 passengers and crew seriously injured.

The Australian carrier underwent a safety review last year after a series of problems, including an oxygen tank explosion on a Boeing 747-400 that ripped a hole in the jet's fuselage last July, forcing it to make an emergency landing in the Philippines. No one was injured.