Qantas CEO: Emergency likely beyond its control by Michaela Vargova

SYDNEY, Australia - The Qantas plane forced to make an emergency landing in the Philippines after a massive hole tore through its side.
QF Flight 30 from London to Melbourne had left Hong Kong airport after a stopover at 9 a.m. local time. The plane was travelling at 29,000 feet when a loud explosion ripped through the plane's underside. Immediately, it lost pressure and descended rapidly before making an emergency landing at Manila airport. Fortunately, there were no reports of injuries, airline officials said. The passengers were finally taken to several hotels in Manila, the capital of the Philippines, and then left just before midnight on another plane to Melbourne. The chief executive of Qantas Airways', Australia's largest airline, praised the pilots and the rest of the crew for how they handled Friday's events.
Australian investigators traveled to Manila to inspect the damaged aircraft. Experts said the hole in the fuselage, which measured about 2mx4m, could have been caused by metal fatigue, an internal explosion or a combination of both. The damage occurred at a point where the highly explosive oxygen bottles are stored.
Aviation sources also revealed that aircraft engineers had noted a "lot" of corrosion during the refit. According to aviation experts, investigators would also closely examine the maintenance regime of the ageing 747, registered in 1991.
Friday's incident remembered the case of 1988 in which a large section of an older Aloha Airlines jetliner was torn off over Hawaii due to metal fatigue. Although the pilots were able to land, a flight attendant died and many of the 89 passengers were seriously injured.

by Michaela Vargova for PocketNews (http://pocketnews.tv)

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