Passengers aboard the Qantas A380 plane that made an emergency landing in Singapore yesterday recounted loud bangs and a fire on the superjumbo’s wing shortly after it took off from the city-state.
“We heard the boom, I looked outside and saw a little bit of fire,” German passenger Ulf Waschbusch said by telephone after leaving the plane.
“Something ruptured the left wing, it was a small rupture,” said the Singapore-based executive who was heading to Sydney on holiday and flying on the double-decker A380 for the first time.
Flight QF32’s captain then announced the jet needed to dump fuel in preparation for an emergency landing. Passengers remained calm despite the drama as the plane circled over Indonesian territory, said Mr Waschbusch.
“We were circling for almost two hours dumping fuel,” he said.
“Everyone was surprisingly calm on the plane. We are not going crazy at all. The crew helped tremendously. I felt in good hands. Qantas did a great job in keeping us safe.”
Passengers began emerging in the arrival hall of Changi Airport’s Terminal 1 about five hours after landing, but were whisked away by security officers to buses that ferried them to undisclosed hotels, as a throng of journalists shouted questions.
“There was quite a loud bang, we just sat right where it happened,” Australian Claire Quinn told reporters before boarding a bus.
“We could see all the damage on the wing. We were all pretty much scared stiff,” said Ms Quinn, who was travelling with her daughter.
Another German national Janina Kunz, 23, said there was no panic despite the unfolding drama.
“Everything was okay, no panic. I felt great when we landed,” she told waiting journalists.
Other passengers gave more details of their ordeal in interviews with the Australian media.
Tyler Wooster, 16, told ABC News he was in the window seat directly over the wing when he heard an explosion. “All of a sudden I heard a big bang, like a big gunshot bang, like a really loud gun and... I couldn’t see, obviously, what happened to the engine beneath, but I saw it shot a big hole through the wing,” Wooster said.
“You could see how the the wing had peeled off,” he added.
Larry Heragy said he knew something was wrong when he heard a loud noise from outside the plane.
“Ten to 15 minutes into the flight we heard a loud bang, followed shortly after by another loud bang, a little bit seemed to fly off the back of the engine,” he recounted.
Passengers praised the airline crew for their handling of the situation. “The crew kept walking around, talking to us, keeping everyone very calm and controlled, it was handled very well,” Heragy said.
“Everyone was calm, everyone was concerned for everyone else... (there were) a few jokes going around.”
Passenger Christopher Lee told ABC radio he heard an explosion about 15 minutes after take-off.
“Some of the passengers then alerted cabin staff to the fact that there was an explosion, there was smoke or something to that effect,” he said. (AFP)
“The cabin staff did a great job of keeping us informed,” said Mr Lee, adding the information was translated for German-speaking passengers.
“I must say I fly on many international flights... and it’s one of the smoothest landings I’ve had actually,” he said.