CANBERRA - AN AEROPLANE nosedived hundreds of feet after a computer fault shut down the autopilot, Australian investigators said on Tuesday.

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) said incorrect information from a faulty air data computer triggered a series of alarms and prompted the Qantas Airbus A330's flight control computers to put the jet into a 650ft (197 metre) dive.

'At this stage of the investigation, the analysis of available data indicates that the (air data inertial reference unit's) abnormal behaviour is likely as the origin of the event,' the ATSB said in a statement.

At least 51 passengers and crew were hurt, many suffering broken bones and spinal injuries, when the aeroplane carrying 313 people from Singapore to Perth climbed suddenly before plunging downwards on October 7. -- AFP