Hakmao: There's a large hole in the side of the plane

July 25, 2008

There's a large hole in the side of the plane

I hate flying and particularly hate those sorts of flights where the passengers applaud after landing - anything entailing rapid descents, flying into invisible holes in the sky, landing in low cloud, landing in thick haze, rooster-tailing along the runway in a tropical storm, dodging idiots in Cessnas, full flaps-down crash stops in high winds (Berlin and Sydney) ... and anything involving Wellington airport.

Holes appearing at in the fuselage 29,000 feet don't do much for me either:

Shortly after the Qantas flight QF30 landed in Manila yesterday afternoon, the pilot made a startling admission: "There's a large hole in the side of the plane." A passenger recalled him saying, "I don't know how it got there."

Passengers had spent a nervous hour on board after hearing a large bang. The cabin lost pressure, oxygen masks dropped, and the aircraft plunged 20,000 feet in a controlled manoeuvre.

The Boeing 747 438 Longreach was flying from Hong Kong to Melbourne with 346 passengers when it was forced to make an emergency landing.

Special gold stars to Channel4 for misspelling QANTAS and to Jon Snow for mispronouncing it.

Posted by hakmao at July 25, 2008 09:11 PM

Comments

You hate flying too... we are so similar I am afraid we'll cut one another's throat after an hour. Especially if you touch my beloved Glenmorangie Sherry Finish.

Posted by: SnoopyTheGoon at July 26, 2008 09:50 PM

I'm not very fond of flying either. The scariest flying experience I had was when (presumably) the pilot switched the in-cabin TVs to the pilot's view of the plane landing. I don't need to see the plane that I'm riding on pointed towards the ground, thanks.

Posted by: Graeme at July 26, 2008 10:17 PM

Done the depressurisation emergency landing thing but without the hole in the plane - spent 4 hours in Breast (cue teenage sniggering) with shit sandwiches and warm Kronenburg before being flown back to Leeds/Bradford. Never felt we were at deaths door throughout.

Posted by: SP at July 26, 2008 11:36 PM

I like flying.

Tis better than walking.

Just saying like.

Posted by: Will at July 28, 2008 01:50 AM

"hate those sorts of flights where the passengers applaud after landing"

Never fly to/from an Italian destination then. And in particular, avoid Palermo Punta Raisi airport like the plague

Posted by: Eugenio at July 29, 2008 04:37 PM