Terror as plane plunges 20,000ft

[brooksieb]

Passengers on a packed jumbo jet flight from London have spoken of their terror after a gaping hole appeared in the plane as it headed for Australia.

Some passengers vomited when oxygen masks had to be used as the Melbourne-bound Qantas Boeing 747 plane prepared to make an emergency landing at Manila in the Philippines.

Passengers spoke of hearing a loud bang and debris flying into the first class cabin as the plane's flooring gave way, part of the ceiling collapsed and the plane reportedly plunged 20,000ft.

The aircraft touched down safely at Manila at 11.15am local time and all 346 passengers and 19 crew disembarked normally.

Manila airport operations officer Ding Lima told local radio the plane lost cabin pressure shortly after take-off on the Hong Kong to Melbourne leg of its journey and the pilot radioed for an emergency landing.

He said: "There is a big hole in the belly of the aircraft near the right wing, about three metres in diameter.

"Upon disembarkation, there were some passengers who vomited. You can see in their faces that they were really scared."

Dr June Kane, from Melbourne, said: "There was a terrific boom and bits of wood and debris just flew forward into first (class) and the oxygen masks dropped down.

"On the left-hand side, just forward of the wing, there's a gaping hole from the wing to the underbody. It's about two metres by four metres and there's baggage hanging out, so you assume that there's a few bags that may have gone missing. It was absolutely terrifying, but I have to say everyone was very calm."

Peter Gibson, from Australia's Civil Aviation Safety Authority, told ABC Radio that initial reports indicated a problem with air pressure in the cabin.

[Fitzgerald]

That was a close call.

[joecoolfrog]

Manilla is not a bad place for an evening out

[Nickbaldwin]

Just seen it on the news, scary shit.

[muy_thaiguy]

Jeez. Glad it didn't go down in the middle of the ocean.

[heavycola]

well the new world order really fucked this one up, eh? Looks like someone needs bombmaking classes.

[Neoteny]

I probably would have shit myself.

[heavycola]

I probably would have shit myself.

it would have made sliding down the inflatable ramp a humiliating and extremely uncomfortable experience, when in fact that should be the fun part of being in a plane crash. Although it would proabbly stop your fellow passengers from eating you, at least initially.

[Neoteny]

I probably would have shit myself.

it would have made sliding down the inflatable ramp a humiliating and extremely uncomfortable experience, when in fact that should be the fun part of being in a plane crash. Although it would proabbly stop your fellow passengers from eating you, at least initially.

I could probably extend that time a bit with my knowledge of enterological bacteria. It's good to know I now have an advantage in an Alive-type situation, even if it comes at the cost of an enjoyable slide.

[Backglass]

Clarification: The plane plunged 20,000 on purpose... not because of the hole.

Anytime you lose cabin pressure, the pilots are trained to get under 12,000 feet as quickly as possible as there is less than 5 minutes of oxygen in the passenger delivery system.

News quote: "The hole was created by a non-union baggage handler running into the side of the plane moments before takeoff. As the plane reached altitude the hole ripped open and the cabin depressurized."

[Neoteny]

Clarification: The plane plunged 20,000 on purpose... not because of the hole.

Anytime you lose cabin pressure, the pilots are trained to get under 12,000 feet as quickly as possible as there is less than 5 minutes of oxygen in the passenger delivery system.

News quote: "The hole was created by a non-union baggage handler running into the side of the plane moments before takeoff. As the plane reached altitude the hole ripped open and the cabin depressurized."

Those damn non-unionists... I probably still would have shit myself.

[Curmudgeonx]

There goes Quantas' perfect record. Now what will Rain Man fly?

[Backglass]

There goes Quantas' perfect record. Now what will Rain Man fly?

And was John Travolta at the helm?

(He really is a licensed Qantas 747 Captain)

[jonesthecurl]

He said: "There is a big hole in the belly of the aircraft near the right wing, about three metres in diameter."

Dr June Kane, from Melbourne, said: "There was a terrific boom and bits of wood and debris just flew forward into first (class) and the oxygen masks dropped down.

"On the left-hand side, just forward of the wing, there's a gaping hole from the wing to the underbody. It's about two metres by four metres and there's baggage hanging out, so you assume that there's a few bags that may have gone missing.."

that woulda been my main concern too. Hey, there's a hole in the plane. I hope my duty-free didn't fall out!"

[Johnny Rockets]

This happened before years ago in the late 80's on a flight to Hawaii. Top of the plane peeled back like a can of sardines and they lost 2 passengers and a steward. !/2 of coach had to fly back in the open air. This happened shortly after take off so a majority of passengers were still belted. I'll search some archives because there is a pic. of the plane taxiing in on the runway with the passengers seated and staring out the hole. The expressions are the paramount of horror. Metal fatigue was blamed.

J

[Backglass]

This happened before years ago in the late 80's on a flight to Hawaii. Top of the plane peeled back like a can of sardines and they lost 2 passengers and a steward. !/2 of coach had to fly back in the open air. This happened shortly after take off so a majority of passengers were still belted. I'll search some archives because there is a pic. of the plane taxiing in on the runway with the passengers seated and staring out the hole. The expressions are the paramount of horror. Metal fatigue was blamed.

That was quite different and much more dramatic. The flight yesterday was just a breach of the pressurized area. The Hawaiian Air accident was an massive portion of the plane itself. It was determined that metal fatigue was to blame because it was an inter-island airplane (not a flight from the mainland).. It would taken off and land dozens of times per day from Oahu to the Big Island, in salty sea air, and did so for many years. Most jets don't do 15 minute flights over & over again all day long!

[heavycola]

This happened before years ago in the late 80's on a flight to Hawaii. Top of the plane peeled back like a can of sardines and they lost 2 passengers and a steward. !/2 of coach had to fly back in the open air. This happened shortly after take off so a majority of passengers were still belted. I'll search some archives because there is a pic. of the plane taxiing in on the runway with the passengers seated and staring out the hole. The expressions are the paramount of horror. Metal fatigue was blamed.

That was quite different and much more dramatic. The flight yesterday was just a breach of the pressurized area. The Hawaiian Air accident was an massive portion of the plane itself. It was determined that metal fatigue was to blame because it was an inter-island airplane (not a flight from the mainland).. It would taken off and land dozens of times per day from Oahu to the Big Island, in salty sea air, and did so for many years. Most jets don't do 15 minute flights over & over again all day long!

That would have been awesome!