PASSENGERS on a Qantas service between Hong Kong and Melbourne had a lucky escape this morning when a van-sized hole appeared in the plane's undercarriage in mid-flight. It seems that a faulty door in the cargo bay may have popped out. The Boeing 747 dropped 20,000 feet before levelling out and was able to make an emergency landing at Manila airport in the Philippines.

Qantas prides itself on its safety record, but this incident, following the discovery of cracks in 14 747s in February, will bruise its reputation. At the same time, while it is disconcerting that an accident like this could happen, it says something for the safety of the plane (at least to this non-engineer) that it can land under such circumstances without any harm coming to the 346 passengers and 19 crew. Many congratulations to the pilot.

Update: Qantas suffered further embarrassment on Monday when a plane had to make an unscheduled return to Adelaide because one of its landing gear doors had not closed properly.  

(Photo credit: AFP)