Baggage … apparently trailed out of hole

Horror … passengers vomited

Gaping … hole in fuselage

BRITISH passengers told of their terror last night after a mystery explosion tore a 12ft-hole in their jet at 30,000ft.

The Qantas Boeing 747-400 had to make an emergency landing after diving to 10,000ft as debris blew through the depressurised cabin.

Yesterday experts said a defect could have caused the explosion on flight QF30 from Heathrow to Melbourne — but did not rule out a bomb.

Last night sources said the 17-year-old plane was found to be riddled with rust earlier this year.

It landed safely and none of the 346 passengers and 19 crew was hurt.

But they were shocked to see the gaping hole — on the underside of a cargo hold, where a wing meets the fuselage. Their luggage was clearly visible.

Yesterday passengers told how the drama unfolded an hour after taking off from a stop-over in Hong Kong.

Some said they heard a bang — then parts of the ceiling and floor were ripped off as oxygen masks fell.

The jet rapidly lost air pressure for five minutes, then took an agonising hour to reach Manila in the Philippines.

Brit June Kane told how she was certain the plane would crash. She said: “There was a terrific boom and bits of wood and debris flew forward. I thought, ‘Stay calm, there’s nothing you can do. This plane will not land’.”

Housewife Debra Manchester, of Buckinghamshire, said: “Newspapers and part of the ceiling flew past me.”

She said she heard an earlier bang 20 minutes after leaving Heathrow — and believed the two could be connected.

George Kierans, of Drogheda, Ireland, who was visiting his son in Oz, said: “It happened when the meals were being served. The plane suddenly plummeted.

“It seemed to tilt considerably to one side. You could see out the window they were burning off fuel and the pilot switched off two of the engines.”

Robin McGeechan, 42, from the Midlands said: “We were told by the crew that a door had popped, but that obviously wasn’t the case.”

Some passengers were so shocked when they saw the damage after landing that they threw up. Phil Rescall, from London, said: “It started to dawn on people that this was a major incident. People were physically shaking.”

Passengers heaped praise on Captain John Bartels and the crew. June, a doctor based in Australia, said: “People were on their feet applauding him.

“He had a calm voice and told us what he was going to do, so that there were no more nasty shocks. We were very, very grateful to the crew as well.”

Australian investigators will arrive in Manila today to inspect the aircraft.

Experts said the hole could have been caused by a flaw in the plane, or exploding oxygen tanks. Aviation expert Chris Yates said investigators would examine the fracture points to check for metal fatigue or a manufacturing defect.

Sources said engineers had noticed a “lot” of rust during refurbishment in March. Senior Qantas pilots said they feared the explosion was the result of outsourcing maintenance to Malaysia, where they said standards were lower.

Passengers were continuing their journey to Melbourne last night.

Source: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/article1474456.ece