July 26, 2008	Saturday	Rajab 22, 1429

MANILA, July 25: A Qantas Boeing 747 flying to Melbourne made an emergency landing in Manila on Friday after a dramatic mid-air rupture that punched a “gaping hole” in its fuselage, officials and passengers said.

Stunned passengers reported how the jumbo, which had taken off from London and made a stopover in Hong Kong, plunged nearly 20,000 feet in what one of them said was an “absolutely terrifying” ordeal.

An investigation is under way into what punched a hole of about 10 feet in diameter into the fuselage near the right wing.

A Qantas spokeswoman said the plane, carrying 346 passengers and 19 crew, was now undergoing an inspection on the ground in Manila, where luggage could be clearly seen jutting out of the hole.

“There was a terrific boom, and bits of wood and debris just flew forward into first (class) and the oxygen masks dropped down,” June Kane, a passenger from Melbourne, told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

“We were told that one of the rear doors, a hole had blown into it, but I’ve since looked at the plane and there’s a gigantic gaping hole in the plane. It was absolutely terrifying, but I have to say everyone was very calm.”

Qantas chief executive officer Geoff Dixon said initial inspections showed the aircraft had sustained a hole in its fuselage, and it was being inspected by engineers.

He said the flight crew performed emergency procedures after oxygen masks were deployed and there were no reports of any injuries.

Qantas Airways has a good safety record, having never lost a jet to an accident. In the 1988 film “Rain Man,” an autistic character played by Dustin Hoffman insists on flying with the airline precisely for that reason.

In a statement, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau said the plane had been flying at 29,000 feet when the crew were forced into an emergency descent after a section of the fuselage separated and resulted in rapid decompression of the cabin. It said the crew descended the aircraft to 10,000 feet “in accordance with established procedures” and diverted the plane safely to Manila.

The bureau said it was sending four investigators to Manila to assist local authorities with the investigation. June Kane said the problem appeared to centre on the baggage compartment of the plane.—AFP