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BATAM, Indonesia (AFP)--Witnesses heard a loud mid-air explosion and saw falling debris as a Qantas A380 experienced engine trouble over Indonesia on Thursday and was forced to make a dramatic emergency landing.
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Date Posted: 3/11/10 22:19:23
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THE BUYSEIDE HAS IMPROVED BUT SELLERSD STILL OVERWHELEM IT---OVER 5 MILLION THURSDAY 4/11/2010
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Indonesians Describe Explosion, Debris From Qantas A380
04/11/2010 3:58PM
BATAM, Indonesia (AFP)--Witnesses heard a loud mid-air explosion and saw falling debris as a Qantas A380 experienced engine trouble over Indonesia on Thursday and was forced to make a dramatic emergency landing.
Metal debris including a piece bearing part of the airline's red-and-white "flying kangaroo" emblem slammed into industrial and residential areas of the northern city of Batam, about an hour by ferry from Singapore.
"I didn't see a plane crash but I heard a loud explosion in the air. There were metal shards coming down from the sky into an industrial area in Batam," witness Noor Kanwa said.
Flight QF32 was carrying 433 passengers and 26 crew from Singapore to Sydney when it ran into trouble shortly after takeoff and had to return to the city-state's Changi Airport leaving a trail of smoke.
Another witness described hearing a screeching sound before the explosion, and said Batam residents came out of their homes to observe the high-tech superjumbo circling as it used up its fuel before attempting to land.
"I was driving near a residential estate when suddenly I heard a thunderous braking sound," 35-year-old driver Ricky, 35, said.
"I thought it was an explosion but when I looked up I saw a plane going round and round and there was smoke coming out of its tail.
"Then three or four pieces of metal fell from the sky, each not longer than a meter (yard). They fell into a field," he added.
"Dozens of residents rushed out of their homes to see what was going on. They looked excited. In Batam, it's common to see planes taking off from Singapore and flying over us. But we didn't expect to see something like this."
Batam police officer Bobby Baharudin said debris was "scattered over Batam".
"Most of it fell in residential areas. There's a part that looks like a door and shards of aluminum," he said.
It was the first mid-air emergency involving the giant Airbus plane, which made its first commercial flight with Singapore Airlines on the same Singapore-Sydney route in October 2007.
The Qantas plane spent several minutes dumping fuel over Indonesia before making its emergency landing in Singapore, where it touched down safely and was swarmed by fire trucks.
One of the engines on the left wing looked to be missing, and the area around it was black.
The Australian government said no passengers or crew were injured in the incident, keeping intact Qantas's record of never having had a fatal jetliner accident in its 90-year history.
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