Qantas jet lands with gaping hole in fuselage

PAUL ALEXANDER, News.yahoo.com MANILA, Philippines - A Qantas jumbo jet carrying 345 passengers made an emergency landing Friday with a gaping hole in its fuselage after a mysterious "explosive decompression," officials said. There were no injuries, but some passengers vomited after disembarking the Boeing 747-400, said Octavio Lina, Manila International Airport Authority deputy manager for operations. The cabin's floor gave way, he said, exposing some of the cargo beneath and part of the ceiling collapsed.

"There is a big hole on the right side near the wing," he said, adding it was 7 1/2 feet to 9 feet in diameter. Flight QF 30, from London to Melbourne, had just made a stopover in Hong Kong. Passengers who talked to the media at the airport described hearing an explosion, and then oxygen masks were released. "One hour into the flight there was a big bang, then the plane started going down," passenger Marina Scaffidi, 39, from Melbourne, told The Associated Press by phone from Manila airport. "There was wind swirling around the plane and some condensation." She said the hole extended from the cargo hold into the passenger cabin. "No one was very hysterical," she said. June Kane of Melbourne described how parts of the plane's interior broke apart in the depressurized cabin. "There was a terrific boom and bits of wood and debris just flew forward into first (class) and the oxygen masks dropped down," she told Australia's ABC Radio. "It was absolutely terrifying, but I have to say everyone was very calm." Video shot by a passenger showed people sitting with their oxygen masks on — just-served meals on their tray tables — as the plane descended quickly to 10,000 feet en route to an emergency landing at Manila's international airport. Cabin crew continued to work, walking down the aisles and showing no sign of panic. Applause erupted as the plane touched down safely. More...

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