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Qantas jet lands with hole in fuselage
Sunday, July 27, 2008 | No comments posted.
MANILA, Philippines (AP) — The 346 passengers were cruising at 29,000 feet Friday when an explosive bang shook the Qantas jumbo jet. The plane descended rapidly. Oxygen masks dropped from the ceiling as debris flew through the cabin from a hole that had suddenly appeared in the floor.
It wasn’t until they were safely on the ground after an emergency landing that they realized how lucky they had been: A hole the size of a small car had been ripped into the Boeing 747-400’s metal skin and penetrated the fuselage.
The eerie scene aboard Flight QF 30, captured on a passenger’s cell phone video-camera, showed a tense quiet punctuated only by a baby’s cries as passengers sat with oxygen masks on their faces. Loud applause and relieved laughter went up as the plane touched down.
There were no injuries and only a few cases of nausea, airline officials said. An official of the U.S. Transportation Security Adminis-tration said initial reports indicated no link to terrorism.
Investigators appeared to be focusing on a structural problem.
It wasn’t until they were safely on the ground after an emergency landing that they realized how lucky they had been: A hole the size of a small car had been ripped into the Boeing 747-400’s metal skin and penetrated the fuselage.
The eerie scene aboard Flight QF 30, captured on a passenger’s cell phone video-camera, showed a tense quiet punctuated only by a baby’s cries as passengers sat with oxygen masks on their faces. Loud applause and relieved laughter went up as the plane touched down.
There were no injuries and only a few cases of nausea, airline officials said. An official of the U.S. Transportation Security Adminis-tration said initial reports indicated no link to terrorism.
Investigators appeared to be focusing on a structural problem.
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