ShoreyM

Just been told about this.....

http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/Wor...BIn%2BFuselage

How scary. But sounds like everyone's ok, just shook up. Thankfully.

vicki t

yes i read this on the bbc. as a person who has a flying phobia i cant imagine what it must have been like for the people on that plane. the bbc also says some cargo was coming out of the plane. i hope no ones pets were flying out with them, or if they were they are all safe as well.

comet555

Yah, I heard this on the radio earlier today.

Not good to hear since we're taking a Qantas flight to LA on Wednesday!! I'm a pretty good flyer, but I'm sure it'll make me a touch jumpy during the flight

themerlin

Handy becuase air crash investigation are running out of stories

themerlin

I think it's the best time to fly, everyone is being extra careful.

Flying airzimbabwe made be a nervous flyer, the reservation system was an A4 sheet of paper and a biro !

There website says it all http://www.airzimbabwe.com/

Daydreamer123

I wouldnt want to fly with them, but looking at their site made me kinda sad. Its like they are trying, but with no resources to play.

P.S this is NOT meant to be political, just that sad feeling you get when you think someones trying but that they have no chance of succeeding.

ianbrown

Yeah, saw this on tv at lunchtime, glad the kids were eating in the kitchen at the time,
The filming that someone did inside the plane after the loud bang showed everything remained calm and the crew did a great job, it must still of been an awful experience though for all on board, the clip ive seen they were filming the screen infront of their seats that was showing how many 1000's of feet they were going down in such little time,thank goodness nobody was hurt, it brought tears to my eyes when they all applauded the pilot as he landed safely,

Tableland

It dropped 20,000 feet from its original alt. of 29,000, down to 10,000 which is standard procedure due to pressurisation issues. Will be interested to see why this is - I know Qantas (with other airlines) have been trying to save a few quid due to high oil costs, so let's hope they're not skimping on security or mechanics. They have a great safety record but one major problem like this could affect ticket sales.

Aussie4me

I heard that the Qantas Engineers have been on strike for the past 6 weeks...can anyone confirm this?

Tableland

No. Present speculation is somewhere in the vicinity of a problem with corrosion.

bcworld

They have been striking for a few hours on certain days in one city at a time - I think this has mostly affected domestic operations though and it's been pretty minimal disruption. This one is obviously very serious but you do have to be a bit careful as the aussie media blows any incident involving Qantas completely out of proportion. They have certainly had a lot of reported problems in the last few months, especially with their 747 fleet. A lot of airlines, Qantas included, had planned to have a lot of these planes retired by now but the A380 delivery delays have meant that this could not happen. Qantas has a few ancient 747s flying domestic between Perth & Sydney.

anawanahuanana

I would suspect corrosion to be the cause personally. The area affected is below one of the galleys, which are a major source of contamination from spilled drinks etc. It's possible it could have been a b**b (that word we're not allowed to say in aviation anymore. No, not boob...), but if it was it was either far too small for the job intended, or didn't detonate properly. I really do think this is not the case though.

It will have nothing to do with the current industrial dispute with Qantas engineers. They have not been on strike for 6 weeks. They have had a series of 4 hour stoppages, but nothing that would have affected the condition of this aircraft.

As an aside, I love the way the media keep banging on about it "plunging" like this was some sort of uncontrolled dive brought about by the damage to the aircraft, as opposed to a perfectly controlled emergency decent in accordance with standard operating procedures. When you read press reports about something of which you have a good understanding, and see what trash they put out, it makes you think about all the other stories you take at face value because you know no better.
Kudos to the crew for a good performance all round.

glittababe

As the flight was going from London to Melbourne do we know if there are any of 'our lot' (BE's) on board??? What a start to a migration adventure!

Red_V_Roger

Yes...I was on one last week Perth to Sydney and it did have the feeling of being rather old. Arthur Negus was at the front checking it out for Antiques Roadshow.

themerlin

I think today tonight will be jumping all over it next week.