Qantas plane makes emergency landing in Manila

Manila: Authorities do not suspect a bomb to be the cause of a gaping hole in the undercarraige of a Qantas Airways Boeing 747 jet that made a safe emergency landing here on Fridaywith 346 passengers and 19 crew members aboard.

Qantas investigators have started examining a hole on the jumbo jet on Saturday, said Philippine airport official Octavio Lina. The investigators arrived early Saturday and met with officials from the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines.

The jumbo jet from London en route to Melbourne that landed at Pasay City's Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) had suffered an "explosive decompression" in the cabin in mid air, forcing it to make emergency landing.

Qantas chief executive Geoff Dixon denied rust was responsible for the gaping hole in the fuselage of the plane, saying no rust was found at the place where the damag occured.

Dixon said he was "horrified" at the sight of the jet on the tarmac in Manila but defended the airline's safety and maintenance record.

"No, I do not concede Qantas has a problem, Qantas has a fleet of average age of about 10 years which is pretty much the world average," he told reporters.

Speculation that a bomb blast caused the damage was also initially ruled out.

"Flight QF30, a Melbourne-bound Qantas Boeing 747, suffered a rupture in its fuselage. It is being investigated. A bomb explosion was initially ruled out," a source told Gulf News, requesting anonymity.

"A hole, about two and a half by three metres in diameter, was found on the plane's right side, near the wing down to the under body. Parts of the floor of the cargo section had collapsed, a sign that some bags and cargoes might be gone," said Octavio Lim, Manila International Airport Authority deputy manager for operations.

"The ceiling around the cargo section also collapsed," said Lim.

"We were told that a hole had blown into one of its rear doors," a disembarking passenger told reporters at the terminal.

"One hour after the plane left Hong Kong, we all panicked and shouted with fear when the plane plunged down 6,000 metres in mid-air," another passenger said.

"Some passengers cried louder, others prayed when the debris in the cabin almost choked us. Oxygen masks dropped from the ceiling and there was a big bang as if a bomb exploded," said the passenger, who did not give his name.

"We did not hear any advice from the cockpit. No one said we should remain calm. It was so sudden," he said, adding, "While this was happening, the sound of the engine could be heard. Nobody knew we were landing till we were asked to disembark."

The terrifying incident traumatised the passengers, but they applauded the crew who had remained composed during emergency. All the passengers left the plane in an orderly manner, a radio report from Manila said.

"As the plane safely landed, some passengers remained hysterical. Others vomited as they disembarked the plane. Children were crying and had to be pacified. All the passengers looked scared and shaken," another radio report said.

"No one was hurt," confirmed Alfonso Cusi, general manager of MIAA.

Qantas is scheduled to take the straded passengers to Australia today. Initially, the aircraft remained on the tarmac. It was later brought to Qantas' hangar for repairs.

The plane was carrying 19 crew and 345 passengers, majority of them Australians. It came from London and was due in Melbourne at 10 Friday night.

Australia's air-safety investigator said an initial investigation suggested "a section of the fuselage separated".

With inputs from Rafael Juan, correspondent, and agencies