Pilots taken to hospital after diverting due to sudden loss of pressure

Two pilots were taken to hospital for precautionary checks after making an emergency landing at Canberra Airport (CBR/YSCB) earlier this morning. Emergency services were called to the airport at 11.46pm on Wednesday after a sudden loss of pressure in the aircraft. Firefighters and paramedics were on standby at the airport when the plane landed safely just after midnight.
The pilot and co-pilot were taken to Canberra Hospital for monitoring, but were released later in the morning after precautionary checks.
Their aircraft, a Qantas Boeing 737-300 cargo plane, was flying from Brisbane (BNE/YBBN) to Melbourne (MEL/YMML) as QF 7335 when a technical fault with the onboard air conditioning system caused the pressure loss in the cabin. Manager of Airside Operations at Canberra Airport, Gary McGivern, said the airport activated its airport emergency plan in response to the incident.
“Responders included Aviation Rescue and Firefighting Service, the Australian Federal Police, and ACT Emergency Services,” Mr McGivern said.
“Canberra Airport regularly practices for these types of emergencies and are pleased that the plane landed safely and emergency services were able to attend to the pilots quickly.”
There were no passengers on board.

Aircraft Information
Airline: Qantas Freight
Code: QF/QFA
Aircraft Type: B737-376
Registration: VH-XMO
Serial Number: 23488
Engines: 2 CFMI-CFM56-3C1
First Flew: 23/02/1987
Age: 31 Yrs 5 Mts