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My terror aboard stricken Qantas jet
3:14pm Saturday 26th July 2008
Comments (17)
A SOUTHAMPTON accountant on the Australia-bound jumbo jet terror flight has spoken of his fears that the plane was going to crash into the sea.
Iwan Smith, 27, was among 346 passengers on board the Qantas Boeing 747 when a three-metre hole appeared in the fuselage near the right wing. The plane, one hour into its flight from Hong Kong, was forced into an emergency landing in Manila in the Philippines.
Iwan, who had been on his way to start a threemonth secondment in Melbourne with Nexia International, recounted the drama over the phone.
He said: "I was sitting near the back next to the window when I heard a big bang. My first thought was that the front door had blown out.
"The oxygen masks were deployed because of the explosive decompression and the plane went into a steep dive. We went down 25,000ft in the space of a minute, the captain later told us.
"There was a point when I thought we were going to crash land in the sea. To be honest, I thought I would be swimming.
Some people were hysterical.
"The plane then levelled out at 8,000ft, and it wasn't so bad. We carried on flying at this altitude for another hour to get to Manila. We then had to wait another hour on the plane on the runway.
There was no air conditioning for the two hours, and it was so hot.
"We eventually got off and I walked around the side of the plane to see a gaping big hole in the fuselage.'' Manila Airport authorities said the cabin's floor gave way, exposing some of the cargo beneath, and part of the ceiling collapsed.
On landing, Iwan, a graduate with accountancy and investment services group Smith & Williamson, immediately texted a colleague at the Southampton office to say he was fine, adding: "Bit of a drama in the air...'' Flight QF 30, from London to Melbourne, had just made a stopover in Hong Kong. It was due to arrive in Melbourne yesterday morning.
Qantas provided all passengers with hotels while a replacement plane was arranged.
Chief executive Geoff Dixon said: "All 346 passengers and 19 crew disembarked normally and there were no reports of any injuries to passengers or crew.'' Engineers are investigating.
Your Say YourThis is Hampshire
aussie fan, hythe says...
10:33am Sat 26 Jul 08
Wewullywinky, says...
11:28am Sat 26 Jul 08
Be interesting to see the air investigation report on this.
southy, redbridge says...
11:58am Sat 26 Jul 08
Wewullywinky, says...
12:53pm Sat 26 Jul 08
southy wrote:Concorde was a classic. Frequently part of the tail fin would break free but caused no real problems.
this sort of thing has happen many times before where a plate has blow off,normaly the plane will land safely
Lowe and Behold, St Marys hotseat says...
1:25pm Sat 26 Jul 08
Sky pilot, soton says...
1:36pm Sat 26 Jul 08
paul b, says...
3:58pm Sat 26 Jul 08
Bill, DeSoto MO USA says...
4:21pm Sat 26 Jul 08
normal person, southampton says...
5:54pm Sat 26 Jul 08
aussie fan wrote:Sadly from within the airline industry it looks like Quantas have had a few more troubles with maintenance than they have admitted. I woul steer clera of them for the moment. The accident was either caused by a dodgy oxygen cylinder (should have been checked) or corrosion, which was reported on this particular aircraft earlier this year. The crew may have been magnificent but if their aircraft are not safe then what are they supposed to do???? DODGY this story will run and run!!!
what a wonderful job the captain and his crew did ensuring the safety of all their passengers we have flown qantas for 15 years now and will be flying with them again at xmas their safety and service is first class
paul b, says...
7:50pm Sat 26 Jul 08
whoop de f11cking doo
Finlay, Des Moines, Iowa says...
9:38pm Sat 26 Jul 08
The aircraft will be fumigated and repaired and up in the air before you know it said the Qantas agent
ana, southampton says...
12:50am Sun 27 Jul 08
southy, redbridge says...
3:38pm Sun 27 Jul 08
ana wrote:i would not worrie about it, it happens more often than people think.and its the crew skill and know how,how to deal with it and how good the main air frame is
Please dont make fun, I have been to aussie with Qantas many times (my parents live over there)it is a suberb airline and safe, But if I had been in the air when this happened I would have died a death,
normal person, southampton says...
8:58pm Sun 27 Jul 08
RainMain, says...
8:30am Mon 28 Jul 08
southy, redbridge says...
5:30pm Mon 28 Jul 08
GAPING HOLE: Luggage is seen from the damaged right wing fuselage.
Iwan Smith
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Dixon, says...
10:30am Sat 26 Jul 08