Qantas flight makes emergency stop in Philippines

[KeepItReal]

Source: Yahoo! - AP

MANILA, Philippines - A Qantas flight en route to Australia from London made an emergency stop in Manila on Friday after a loud bang punched a hole in the Boeing 747-400's fuselage, officials and passengers said.

There were no injuries, but some of the 345 passengers vomited after disembarking, said Manila International Airport Authority deputy manager for operations Octavio Lina.

Lina said the cabin's floor gave way, 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 2.5 to 3 yards in diameter.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080725/ap_on_re_as/philippines_emergency_landing

---

There was an explosion that punched a 2-3 yard wide hole in the plane and they only call this an "emergency stop" !?!?

[cloudbase]

1. That would meet

my definition of emergency.

[KeepItReal]

4. "Hole in airplane forces emergency landing"

"MANILA, Philippines, July 25 (UPI) -- Qantas Airways (OTCBB:QUBSF) officials in Manila are investigating what caused a door to break free of an airplane in flight Friday, blowing a hole in the fuselage.

Qantas flight QF30 from London to Melbourne, carrying 300 passengers and crew, plummeted 20,000 feet after the faulty door caused the cabin to depressurize, The Times of London reported Friday.

The airliner was diverted to Manila. Octavio Lina, the airport's deputy manager for operations said a hole measuring between 7 to 9 feet was on the right side of the fuselage near the wing."

http://www.upi.com/Top_News/2008/07/25/Hole_in_airplane_forces_emergency_landing/UPI-41411216984224/

[dysfunctional press]

2. somebody had something in their baggage or cargo that they shouldn't have...

and it went boom.

[raebrek]

3. Explosive Decompression

For all you military aircrew or pilots. Trained for the eventuality of it happening and when I read the article and their description of how the cabin was misty and I thought. Explosive decompression. Then later on in the article they called it that too. Scary thing explosive decompression but not as dangerous as a slowly losing pressure.

Raebrek!!!

[ohio2007]

29. Fatigue corrosion nt

[exothermic]

5. Well, that's what I'd call it.

I'm pretty sure most of us pilots would...
:shrug:

[KeepItReal]

7. Someone gets sick on a plane and you have to divert is an "emergency stop"

A whole blown in the plane itself is a slightly bigger deal.

[exothermic]

9. Actually it isn't. No flight controls or engines were compromised.

Nobody except stowaways in the baggage compartment was in danger.

[KeepItReal]

14. My point was that the AP article title on Yahoo was crap

eom

[exothermic]

17. Sorry, I wasn't awake yet...you're right.

:D

[KeepItReal]

6. Better article from UPI:

"MANILA, Philippines, July 25 (UPI) -- Qantas Airways (OTCBB:QUBSF) officials in Manila are investigating what caused a door to break free of an airplane in flight Friday, blowing a hole in the fuselage.

Qantas flight QF30 from London to Melbourne, carrying 300 passengers and crew, plummeted 20,000 feet after the faulty door caused the cabin to depressurize, The Times of London reported Friday.

The airliner was diverted to Manila. Octavio Lina, the airport's deputy manager for operations said a hole measuring between 7 to 9 feet was on the right side of the fuselage near the wing."

http://www.upi.com/Top_News/2008/07/25/Hole_in_airplane_forces_emergency_landing/UPI-41411216984224/

[dysfunctional press]

10. that happened on a united flight to new zealand years ago...cargo door hadn't been properly secured.

when it flew open, it ripedoff part of the fuselage and took two rows of window seats(and the passengers in them) out.

THAT would be a horrific way to go- sitting in your first class seat one minute, and the next still in the seat, but you're falling 37,000 ft. towards the pacific. :shudder:

[exothermic]

11. Fucking "reporters". It did not PLUMMET, they descended rapidly as is SOP for decompression.

:grr: :mad: :puke: :eyes:

[Endangered Specie]

20. Artistic License I suppose

gotta love the dumbass media.

[raebrek]

8. Did anyone check the video links?

That is so cool. Talk about having a normal calm flying experience despite the problem with the plane.

Raebrek!!!

[AngryAmish]

12. Rainman says I told you so

[raebrek]

13. Rainman, definitely Rainman. n/t

[1monster]

15. photo

http://o.aolcdn.com/dims-photohub/dims/NEWS/1/618/412/100/

[hunter]

25. Looks like some people lost their luggage...

I wonder if they are the sort who will complain, or will they just be glad they didn't go down with it.

[RamboLiberal]

16. So far they are claiming a faulty latched door

i.e. like the United flight that had a similar incident out of Hawaii a number of years ago had with a cargo door that wasn't latched properly. However from photos I have a question. If you notice a cargo door is forward of this hole and it's near the wing root. Is there any maintenance doors near this area of a 747? I do see one part of the fuseleage that is pealed out. You do have to wonder if a small bomb was in the cargo hold or something else that had explosive potential. Or was there a unnoticed defect ala the Aloha 727 that suddenly became a convertible?

[Duppers]

21. this was caused by metal fatigue

"Yates said investigators will examine closely the fracture points that showed up on the skin of the aircraft to determine whether metal fatigue or manufacturing defect caused the panel to peel away."

"The aircraft appeared to be missing a plate of its metal skin at the joint where the front of the right wing attaches to the plane. A curved line of rivets was still visible on the body at the front edge where the sheet once was; a straight line of rivets is along the other." ....

http://www.dailypress.com/news/local/newsletter/sns-ap-philippines-emergency-landing,0,568 7177.story

Fatigue studies can save lives. Years ago NASA canned the best fatigue studies but are now --finally -- funding them again. Remember NASA stands for National Aeronautics and Space Admin.

This is metal fatigue, folks.

[RamboLiberal]

22. Jet had a history of corrosion

The 17-year-old jet had been "plagued by a history of corrosion," according to Australian newspaper the Daily Telegraph.

The plane had been refurbished with a new interior in March, and engineers noted "a lot of corrosion during the refit," according to the paper

http://abcnews.go.com/International/story?id=5448348&page=1

Fortunately it didn't extend in to the passenger cabin or there probably would have been a loss in life.

The Aloha flight that lost its upper section cost the life of 1 flight attendant who was pulled from the aircraft.

The improperly latched cargo door in the United 747 cost 9 passengers their lives.

[kestrel91316]

18. I don't think I've vomited a dozen times in my entire 51 years, but

I STRONGLY suspect I would have been one of the ones to vomit after disembarking......

[intheflow]

19. HuffPo has video shot by a passenger inside the plane.

Here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/07/25/quantas-jet-lands-with-ga_n_114931.html

The passengers were amazingly calm! I've been on completely smooth flights where people have freaked out more. A big kudos to the flight team for keeping their heads and landing the plane safely! :applause:

[Spouting Horn]

23. He appears to not

have taken his camera out until the plane was at 10,000 altitude.

It would have been interesting to see the descent.

[intheflow]

24. He was probably too busy putting on his mask.

My first instinct wouldn't be to get the camera out, I'd be saying my prayers.

[ohio2007]

28. I bet somebody did just that.

But isn't leaking it onto the internet

[Haole Girl]

26. Anybody find the line...

..but some 345 passengers vomited.. a little odd? How do they know exactly how many people vomited.

Weird report.

:crazy:

[ohio2007]

27. and what about "The Others" ?