Quantas Jet Hobbles Home after nearly losing a wing. Basically, the plane was flying apart. It was cruising at 29,000 feet when its fuselage started to disintegrate and the cabin depressurized. I believe it was the depressurization with the outside that stopped the delicate aircraft 'skin' from completely losing its integrity.

Quantas is a very reliable airline. Its been around forever and has been the flagship carrier in Australia. This entire episode is very odd.


A gash is seen where the Qantas plane's wing intersects the fusellage. Photo: Jeff Courtney


A reader's photo of the damaged Qantas plane. Photo: Tom Coverdale


Qantas pilot Captain John Francis Bartels (R) looks at the hole of Melbourne bound Qantas Airways Boeing 747. Photo: AFP

Sydney Morning Herald

Corrosion 'didn't cause hole in jumbo'
Questions loom over what caused a hole to open in the fuselage of a Qantas jumbo jet midflight en route to Melbourne but company executives and aviation experts say corrosion was not likely to be the culprit.
Air safety experts are investigating whether something exploded inside some luggage, a panel simply tore away, or something else caused a gaping hole in front of the right wing of the Boeing 747-400, causing rapid depressurisation in the cabin.
The pilots quickly descended 29,000 feet (9,000 metres) before making an emergency landing in Manila.
QF30 was on its way from London via Hong Kong, and was due to arrive in Melbourne at 9.45pm (AEST) Friday.
The passengers arrived this morning instead on board a replacement flight to be greeted with hugs and kisses from anxious loved ones.
They described hearing a loud bang, oxygen masks falling, debris flying and the plane making a rapid descent before landing safely in the Philippines capital.

http://news.smh.com.au/national/corrosion-didnt-cause-hole-in-jumbo-20080726-3l4y.html


Qantas probe underway
Air safety experts were investigating whether an explosion inside some luggage or a broken panel punched a hole in a Qantas airliner, forced to make an emergency landing in Manila.
Experts were focusing on the two theories as they investigated the dramatic rupture on the Boeing 747's fuselage as it flew from Hong Kong to Melbourne yesterday with more than 300 passengers and crew on board, said a source close to the investigation.
"They were very lucky.
"While it is too early to say what actually caused the hole, we will be looking at two possibilities ... something exploded in one of the bags or a panel came loose on the fuselage," the source told AFP.
The source said the explosion might have been caused by a pressurised container inside a piece of luggage, saying a bomb was unlikely.

http://www.smh.com.au/news/travel/qantas-probe-underway/2008/07/26/1216492796394.html