Filipina Soul

Manila’s Ninoy Aquino International Airport was the site of an emergency landing made by a Qantas 747 jet which had a gaping hole on its fuselage. The incident happened just a few hours ago today, July 25, 2008.

You can see how large the hole is in this photo of the plane already safe on the ground.  It was reported to be 9 feet in diameter! Shown is Qantas pilot Captain John Francis Bartels looking at the damage.

The plane was on its way to Melbourne, Australia from London, via Hongkong. According to passengers, a loud bang occurred one hour into the flight, when the plane was at 29,000 feet above sea level. There was a sudden decompression inside the plane, causing the oxygen masks to deploy and debris to fly around the cabin. Part of the floor and ceiling also collapsed. The pilots quickly took the plane down to 10,000 feet, before landing it safely at the airport.

What a scary experience! It’s a credit to the crew for keeping calm throughout the ordeal, and to the pilot for getting everyone on the ground safely. Of the 346 passengers and 19 crew members, not one was injured. The passengers got on another plane later on in the day, to finish their journey to Melbourne.

Here’s a closer look at that hole, from the photo above. You can see what appears to be pieces of luggage poking out. Some suitcases were probably lost over the South China Sea when the fuselage tore open.

image used with permission from Newscom; story via IHT