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Qantas jet makes emergency landing after huge hole appears in fuselage
Friday, 25 July 2008
AP
Qantas pilot Capt. John Francis Bartels look at the right wing damaged fuselage of Qantas Airways Boeing 747-400 after it made an emergency landing
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A Boeing jet heading from England to Australia has made an emergency landing in the Philippines after a 9ft hole appeared in the fuselage.
Passengers on the Qantas flight say they heard a loud bang before oxygen masks fell down and the plane dropped 20,000 feet.
None of the 365 people on board the plane was hurt in the incident.
Engineers are investigating the cause of the massive hole.
Manila International Airport Authority deputy manager for operations Octavio Lina said:
"There is a big hole on the right side near the wing," he said, adding it was 2.5 to 3 yards (meters) in diameter.
"The flooring gave way, exposing some of the cargo beneath. The ceiling around the area also collapsed.
"Upon disembarkation, there were some passengers who vomited.
"You can see in their faces that they were really scared."
One passenger said: ""There was an incredible boom. Everyone thought the plane would disintegrate. Baggage was flying out. The hole goes right under the plane. It's about two metres by four metres."
Another passenger said: "It was very well handled by the Qantas staff - that is the thing that stood out to me. They did a very good job of keeping everyone calm, keeping it under control."
Owen Dixon is the Chief Executive of Qantas - he says the incident has left everyone baffled.
"It is a very rare event so there will obviously be a huge investigation into how it happened", he said.
Qantas said the 747-400 was not the one that was used to fly Pope Benedict XVI out of Australia earlier this month after his visit to Sydney.
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Don't Know why all this fuss over names etc - 365 people on board that plane - could have been a high fatality rate - Thankfully no-one was hurt - the Crew handled the situation very professionally and got everyone off that craft safe.
Posted by Dee | 26.07.08, 11:06 GMT
Longreach is the name of the town in Queensland where Qantas originated.
Posted by Annabella | 26.07.08, 07:29 GMT
"Longreach" is not the name of the aircraft. Many QANTAS aircraft feature the word "Longreach" on the fuselage.
Posted by Steve | 26.07.08, 04:35 GMT
To Bronson - all QF 747-400 series planes are inscribed "Longreach" to show the huge distances they travel non stop.
Especially LAX-SYD 14.5 hours non stop; LAX-MEL 15.5 hours non stop.
Thank goodness the accident did not happen on one of these trans Pacific flights where the nearest airport is water, but by all accounts, the flight crew had everything well under control.
However if five or six hours on trans Pacific to nearest airport. more of the plane of course may have disintegrated under the strain.
Posted by John Phillips, Sydney | 26.07.08, 02:04 GMT
Centaur...mr smarty-pants - "spirit of australia" is the Qantas catchphrase/slogan NOT the name of the plane!
Posted by Smarterpants | 25.07.08, 15:37 GMT
Bronson, I am looking at a photograph of the aircraft (complete with hole forward of the starboard wing) and there are big letters on the side of the hull. Let me look closer..... ah yes, "Spirit of Australia"! What are you talking about? This aircraft is NOT called "Longreach".
Also, I would like to join with "Patterson, Frankfurt" in condemning the over sensational style of journalism used in this report. The aircraft followed procedure in taking the passengers and crew to an altitude where there was air to breath.
It is highly unlikely that it "dropped 20,000 feet". This implies loss of control and, by all accounts, the incident was professionally handled by the crew. I would congratulate them.
Posted by Centaur | 25.07.08, 15:33 GMT
*the plane dropped 20,000 feet* Its SOP to reduce your FL (asap)after the cabin pressure is lost. I´m sure the mentioned "Drop" was however controlled.
Come on guys lets not get too sensational in journalism terms....
Posted by Patterson, Frankfurt | 25.07.08, 14:04 GMT
Query??? Name of Qantas jet that carried Pope Benedict home from Sydney was "Longreach"... (see vision of Channel 9 )
Name of plane with hole.... "Longreach".
Qantas claim it was not the same plane.
Even if it was, does it matter?
Posted by Bronson | 25.07.08, 11:53 GMT